An Indian-origin family that has been on the verge of getting the Australian citizenship after living Down Under for over a decade, faces eviction. The reason: Their son was born with cerebral palsy and the Australian government believes that bringing up young Kayaan Katyal in Australia would cost the taxpayer a huge sum. The Australian government thinks it would be an “undue cost to the Australian community”.
In a report published in ABC News, Kayaan’s father Varun Katyal, who has been living in Australia for 12 years, says he and his family have followed all rules of the land, have been paying taxes regularly and never broken any law—and yet, the condition of their son is being seen as an “undue cost”.
“The only thing that was wrong with our visa application was not in our hands. The things that were in our hands, we did right,” ABC quoted Varun as saying.
Kayaan was born premature and with cerebral palsy. Australia’s migration laws consider disability as a strong enough drawback to cancel a visa application. The Australian home department has said it is the only reason for the rejection.
The government has said in its rejection letter that Kayaan’s disability would cost taxpayers $1.23 million over 10 years, which would be an “undue cost to the Australian community”.
The story has triggered outrage against the Australia visa laws. Human Rights Watch Australia director Elaine Pearson took to Twitter to share the report and say, “This is so heartbreaking. If Australian-born Kayaan Katyal didn’t have a disability, he’d likely be an Australian permanent resident by now. Instead, he is facing deportation. Kayaan was born prematurely at 32 weeks with cerebral palsy.”
Labor Party MP Peter Khalil wrote, “Is this who we really are as a country? Is this the type of leadership Australians wanted when they elected the Morrison Liberal Government?”