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Down Under
Irish couple facing deportation in Australia because son has cystic fibrosis granted residency
The couple appealed the decision to refuse them residency which prompted intervention from a government minister.
AN IRISH FAMILY, who was facing deportation in Australia because their three-year-old son has cystic fibrosis, has been granted residency.
Anthony and Christine Hyde’s son Daragh was born in 2015 and was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.
The couple, originally from Dublin, submitted an application for residency in 2015 just weeks after he was born.
The application was refused because of Daragh’s condition, which the Australian government said did not meet the health criteria and would be a financial burden on the state.
The Hydes have been living in Seymour, Victoria, for more than a decade, where Christine works as an assistant school principal, and Anthony works part-time as a bus driver.
In a blog post online last night, however, Christine confirmed that, following an appeal, a decision was made to grant residency to the three of them.
“Thank you to everyone who supported us. Late yesterday evening we received the good news that we were granted residency,” she said.
“We are so excited, a huge weight has been lifted and we can continue our lives. We are completely grateful to everyone.”
It comes after they appealed the original decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which then recommended that the case be put forward for ministerial intervention.
Immigration Minister David Coleman overturned the decision and permitted the family to remain in Australia.
In an interview with Channel10′s The Project previously, Christine pleaded with Coleman to intervene in the case.
“We’re asking that the minister just look at us as a whole family unit and what we already give back, rather than just a medical condition.
“Australia is supposed to be fair and everyone we know is as fair as it gets. And that’s what we find really difficult to understand about this situation,” she said.
A petition online was signed by more than 120,000 people who supported the Hyde’s plea to remain in Australia.
