‘Heartless’ visa decision leaves Hobart man’s wife stranded

Home Affairs bureaucrats have cancelled a Hobart man’s reunion with his wife stranded overseas due to Covid.

A HOBART man has branded the decision to cancel his wife’s visa while she is stranded overseas by Covid-related travel disruptions as “heartless”.

Alan Whykes married his Colombian wife Monica Garzon in 2018 and the couple had planned to settle in Hobart.

They applied for a partner visa, which was granted in 2019, but the pandemic thwarted her plans to move the following year as flights were cancelled and quarrantine slots restricted.

The couple decided to bide their time until things settled down and travel became easier.

But just as an easing of restrictions made a long-anticipated reunion seem possible, Mr Whykes received an email from the Depatment of Home Affairs saying Monica’s visa had been cancelled. Her son’s visa was also cancelled.

It reads in part: “The applicant did not satisfy the provisions of the Migration Regulations 1994. There is no right of merits review for this decision. We cannot consider your visa application any further.”

Mr Whykes says that after providing evidence the couple were still together, it was hard to understand the lack of compassion.

“I feel we have been ‘penalised’ by the Covid situation worldwide,” he said.

“Of course I was unable to show photographs of myself and Monica together in recent times. “How can the Department of Immigration be so ignorant of the knock-on effects of the pandemic and so dismissive of our case?”

He said the process of organising a visa had been protracted, expensive and impersonal — and had arrived at the wrong decision.

“You reckon you’d get a bit of humanity for $10,000,” he said.

“But throughout this whole process, there’s been nobody to speak to. Everything is done online.

“There’s no way of seeking advice from people whether you're meeting the requirements.”

Mr Whykes has engaged a lawyer to explore his legal options and plans to appeal directly to Immigration Minister Alex Hawke to reconsider the couple’s case.

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