Ali Choudhry and Matthew Hynd are a same-sex couple who have been together for four years in Australia.
But the Australian government has denied the couple’s application for a partnership visa, and that means that next week, Choudhry will be deported to Pakistan.
It is the country he was born in – but a country where he cannot read or write the local language, as he grew up in the United Sates. A country where he could also face imprisonment on the basis of his sexual orientation.
To gain partnership migration in Australia, you need to be able to prove a “genuine and ongoing relationship.” For de facto relationships, this can include the time that the couple has been living together, their financial interdependence, children, and their commitment to a shared life.
For heterosexual couples, they also have the ability to do a little thing called ‘getting married’.
Unfortunately for Choudhry and Hynd, that’s not a possibility for them – but they did get a civil union.
A spokesman for the Immigration Minister Scott Morrison told the ABC that the visa rejection has nothing to do with Choudhry being gay – but that probably doesn’t provide much comfort for Choudhry and Hynd.
The story first came to the attention of the media when Choudhry and Hynd started a Pozible campaign to help raise funds to file an appeal to the Migration Review Tribunal.
Choudhry wrote:
They say Cupid’s arrow strikes when you least expect it. He was a medical researcher in America and I was studying Zoology in Australia. He’s Catholic. I’m Muslim. He’s Caucasian. I’m Asian. He’s a guy and I’m a guy. And we’re in love.
In February 2014 we had hoped to celebrate our fourth anniversary with family and friends. But on January 8th 2014 I will be deported because the Australian Government has ruled that “(we) do not consider that you are in a long-standing relationship.”
January 8th is also my birthday. On a day that should be filled with laughter and joy I will be forced to leave my partner and everyone I love.
Choudhry and Hynd are no strangers to setbacks – and have already weathered so much through the course of their relationship.
Top Comments
Pedophiles. Apology for immigration department incoming?
Wasn't Hynd convicted in the US and deported to Australia for possessing child pornography?