Resident Return Visas - A Story With a Very Happy Ending!

I am so pleased to be able to share this account of my work, which enabled three sisters to be re-united with their father and to achieve their dream of returning to live permanently in Australia.

The circumstances of their case were truly compelling: The father of the three girls had been brought to Australia from Croatia by his parents when he was a small child. He ultimately went back to Croatia where he was married. His daughters were born in Zagreb. He then obtained the equivalent of what is today known as a "Partner Visa", and permanent residency status was granted to his wife and daughters. However, after staying in Australia for only a short period of time, the wife decided to return to Croatia. She took the daughters with her, without notifying the father or obtaining his consent. 

Ultimately, all three of the sisters grew up in Zagreb. When the oldest of the young women had reached her early twenties and had begun university studies, and the two younger sisters were in their late teens, they decided that they would rather live in Australia than in Croatia.

Through providing extensive written submissions to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, I was able to demonstrate that the sisters had strong personal ties to Australia, with many family members living here with full citizenship status. I was also able to explain to the Department that there were compelling reasons why the sisters had not been in Australia - namely, that they had been minor children and were thus not in a position to decide for themselves where they would live.

Thanks to the persuasive evidence that I provided to the Department, the three sisters were all granted Resident Return Visas. They have all migrated to Australia and are happily living here.

The outcome in this case was truly wonderful, and it was immensely rewarding for me to use my legal background to produce a result which will help to put these lovely young women on a path to the future they want, and to help them re-unite with their father and their other close relatives in Australia!!