Two-year-old boy faces deportation and being ripped away from family

A two-year-old boy is at risk of being deported to a nation he’s never been to, after his foster mother’s adoption request was denied. He has been with the woman since he was four days old.

A two-year-old Brisbane boy is facing deportation and being ripped away from the only family he has ever known after the Department of Child Services denied his foster mother’s adoption request.

The mother was devastated to find out she may lose custody of the child just weeks after being told the boy would be in her care until he was 18.

The boy was born in Brisbane in 2019 to an Indian woman here on a student visa.

With the biological mother and father unable to care for him, the boy was placed into the care of a foster parent when he was just four days old.

A redacted email sent from the Department of Children, Youth, and Multicultural Affairs to the family of the two-year-old boy.

The Department of Child Safety has now told the boy’s carer he will be taken away and put up for adoption and that she is ineligible to make an adoption request.

The boy is not considered an Australian resident, despite being born in Brisbane, because of the nationality of his birth parents.

This has sparked fears he may be deported to India, a place he has never been.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Children said the Child Protection Act prevented the Minister from commenting on individual cases, however, the safety and wellbeing of children remained their priority.

“Children who are unable to remain with their biological parents can be placed with foster and kinship carers for varying timeframes and purposes, including pre-adoption placements,” the spokeswoman said.

“Parents express preferences for whom their child will be placed with, including the characteristics and type of family they would like their child to be raised in.

“Adoption is an appropriate long-term care option for a child if the child’s parents choose adoption for them or if a child does not have a parent who is willing and able to protect the child from harm and meet the child’s need for long-term stable care.

“We greatly value the loving homes provided by Queensland’s 5500 foster and kinship carers who take on the role of looking after vulnerable and at-risk children and young people.”

A two-year-old Brisbane child is facing deportation and being ripped away from the care of his foster mother, despite her being told she would be his long-term guardian. Picture: Nine Queensland

The spokeswoman also said, despite being unable to talk to the specifics of the young boy’s case, that the State endeavoured to be open about the adoption process.

“Open adoption arrangements support future communication and contact between the child, biological parents and adoptive parents which allows the child to remain connected to their birth identity,” she said.

Federal Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s office has responded to the situation, relaying the Government’s policy.

“A child born in Australia to a visa holder will generally be considered to hold the same visa as their parent held when the child was born,” a spokeperson said.

“If the state of Queensland chose to sponsor a child in a case such as this, as Minister I would give it my full and compassionate consideration.”

Given the birth-mother was on a student-visa, not a regular visa, the boy has no rights to citizenship or permanent residency.

Originally published as Two-year-old boy faces deportation and being ripped away from family