Two sisters, identical twins, were separated after birth 50 years ago. One of them, Rosabelle Glasby, ended up in Australia. The other, Dorothy Loader, stayed in Malaysia. After two decades of searching, Glasby found Loader. Glasby also petitioned her sister to immigrate to Australia.
Happy ending, right?
Not when bureaucrats become involved.
The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship has determined that the sisters are not related. That means Glasby cannot sponsor Loader into the country.
How can that be? Paul Farrell, Director of the DIAC, explained in the rejection letter:
“Under Migration Law where the legal relationship between a child and his/her birth parents has been severed by adoption, the legal relationship between the child and his/her birth siblings is also severed.
‘It therefore does not appear that your twin sister would be eligible for a permanent visa under the Family Stream of the Migration Program.”
Yes, the Australian authorities have decided that identical twins are not legally related. Go figure.
Glasby puts it in clearer terms.
“We’re identical twin sisters — we’re the same egg,” she said. “It’s hard to get anyone more related to me.”
There is always the option of a ministerial intervention on compassionate grounds. Yet the DIAC states a valid visa has to be submitted and denied for that to happen.
It is a bit amazing that the DIAC can reject an application because of no legal relationship and still refer to the applicants as sisters.
“As much as we sympathise with Mrs Glasby’s situation, the department is bound by Australian law and any application for a permanent visa for her sister and her sister’s family would have to be considered against the relevant laws and the regulations which apply to every case.”
