Request for Ministerial Intervention

Jenny Olsson came to Australia in 1998 on a scholarship from the Swedish government to study at Melbournes La Trobe University. She not only graduated with Honours she graduated at the top of her class, above Australian students & with a grasp of English language often better than her Australian born counterparts.

In 2000 she met Brendon McDonald an Australian born & raised in Sydney. Within months they had fallen in love & after a brief return to Sweden Jenny returned to stay with Brendon. She applied and was successful in receiving a second academic scholarship from the Swedish government & began a Masters Degree in Cultural Studies at Sydneys Macquarie University in mid-2001.

Their devotion & love for each other was the talking point of their friends & family, & on December 27th 2001 Brendon & Jenny were married in Jennys home town. Jenny (now Olsson-McDonald) resumed her studies in February 2002 & due to dissatisfaction with the course, ceased studying in October that year. Soon after, Jenny visited The Department of Immigration & Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) in Sydney to inform them she was no longer studying, though married to an Australian & asked for advice on her visa status. At this time she was informed that she could apply for a Spouse Visa (as automatic residency is no longer granted for persons married to Australian citizens). She paid the fee for the relative forms & left DIMA without further advice. She assumed - being married to an Australian - that there was no need to rush as DIMA officials had given her no indication of urgency.

In February 2003 DIMA automatically cancelled her visa, without notice.

Brendon & Jenny were unaware of this situation & had been continuing to save the almost $2000 fee for the Spouse Visa application. Living on Brendons income alone, this fee took almost 18 months to save. On the 10th May 2004 Brendon & Jenny visited DIMA with the full fee amount, the required paperwork & were looking forward to moving on with their lives, as at this point Jenny was 7 months pregnant with their first child. Upon handing over her Passport, Jenny was informed that she had been living illegally in Australia since February 2003 & would be required to leave the country immediately. As this was medically impossible (and after being asked for proof of her pregnancy!) she was given a temporary visa which would cover her until her child was approximately 6 weeks old & was informed that she would be required to leave the country at that time. It was even suggested by an Immigration Department official that Jenny could leave their newborn child in Australia with Brendon to look after alone (whilst working full time!) when Jenny returned to Sweden for an indeterminate amount of time!

On the 20th August 2004 Jennys temporary visa expires & the Australian Government is demanding Jenny leave the country simply to lodge the paperwork for the Spouse Visa overseas. This decision is based on the fact that Jennys student visa was automatically cancelled , which puts her into the category of Section 48 of the Australian Immigration Act whereby an applicant for any visa application must leave the country to do so. What makes this decision all the more frustrating is the fact that Jenny has been told by at least 2 separate officers at DIMA that she will not be refused her residency due to the fact that her husband is an Australian, as their child is also an Australian by birth. The ruling is asking Brendon & Jenny to pay the application fee, airfares for Jennys return trip to Sweden, take Jenny & their newborn child away from husband & father, simply to hand in paperwork. Their child will not even be old enough to actually see his father at this pointand the application process could take up to two years. The crux of the matter is that the ruling ONLY stops her from applying within Australia. It does not exclude her from residency in fact she has been guaranteed it it merely asks her to leave the country to do so.

The only other option is for Brendon to leave his job - the familys only source of income, lose their rental home which is minutes from his work, uproot their two dogs & their entire lives, devastating everything they have achieved in a short time (not to mention family & friends) & move to Sweden. This option will leave the family bankrupt.

Senator Amanda Vanstone Australias Federal Minister for Immigration has been requested to intervene in this ludicrous case of bureaucratic hoop jumping & red tape, yet at this stage claims she can do nothing. The outrage within the Australian community in general over this case has turned to disbelief. News media outlets such as the local Manly Daily newspaper, Radio 2UE personality Steve Price & Network Ten TV news have all expressed their amazement, anger & disillusionment with the Australian Government policy in this case to little avail. A fellow Federal politician, MP Tony Abbott (Federal Health Minister) has contacted Senator Vanstones office requesting intervention - also to no avail.

Where does bureaucracy end & common sense, empathy & logic begin with the Australian Federal Government?

I am asking The Honourable Senator Amanda Vanstone, Minister for Immigration to step in & say Enough of this craziness! Let Jenny hand in her application here! This is all she needs to be allowed to hand in the paperwork within Australia. To send Jenny back to Sweden simply to lodge an application - under the circumstances - is absolute craziness.

Please sign this petition & inform as many people as you can of Brendon, Jenny & their little boy Lees plight! This decision can be reversed by the minister & in this year of the Federal Election show the Australian Government what Australians think of bureauocratic nonsense! Time is running out fast!