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.