A 92-year-old British second world war veteran with dementia is at risk of deportation from Australia after being refused a permanent resident visa. James Bradley and his wife Peggie, 91, moved to Sydney in 2007 to join their daughter Sharon, but their joint application for an aged parent visa has been rejected due to James's failing health.
The couple passed initial medical checks and were placed on a waiting list, which they were told could take up to 30 years. In 2014, they were nearing the front of the queue when James suffered a fall, breaking his collarbone and pelvis, leaving him reliant on a walking frame and in early stages of dementia. He subsequently failed a second medical examination.
An administrative tribunal upheld the visa refusal in November, confirmed in February. The family has now made a compassionate appeal to the immigration minister, whose office confirmed the request is being actively considered. Sharon, who became an Australian citizen in September, described the process as 'incredibly stressful' for her parents.
Peggie Bradley said her husband is too frail for a 24-hour journey back to the UK and that they have no home to return to after a decade in Australia. 'Everything, and everybody that we care for, is here,' she said. Their son Stuart died in a car accident at 23, and eldest son Duncan died of cancer in 2005.
The family's lawyer described the ministerial intervention as a 'final roll of the dice'. Sharon, who works for Fairfax Media, said in her appeal that the decision should consider 'the history of a man' rather than just 'boxes on a form'. The department declined further comment while the case is under review.
