When dual Argentinian and Italian citizen, Barbara Sanchez married her long-term Australian partner, Lyndon Tyers in January 2015, she dreamt of starting a family in her husband’s hometown of Brisbane.
But thanks to the rejection of the couple’s second partnership visa application by the Australian government, Barbara now has 28 days to leave the country she calls home before facing deportation.
"My wife and I were shocked to receive the unexpected news that after applying for the second time our Partner Visa, with no valid reasons, had been rejected again," Barbara's husband, Lyndon wrote in a Change.org petition.
"We were told that Barbara is being deported and has 28 days to leave Australia, the country in which she has been living for the past 7 years, the country after all these years she calls home."
With the couple's "future at risk", Barbara and Lyndon are seeking help from the public to force the government to reconsider its decision.
"Even with the explanations, evidence of our life and the love we have for each other it is not enough to convince the AAT that my wife should stay with me, her husband, in Australia," he said.
To stay together, Barbara and Lyndon have three options, none of which include continuing to live the life they've built together here in Australia.
It is proposed Barbara can live off-shore - with or without her husband - for up to two years or as long as it takes for the Partner Visa to be approved. The couple could also live in Singapore with Lyndon's brother, or move to Barbara's native Argentina, or Italy.
"I am an Australian citizen and it is being proposed that I leave my own country," Lyndon said of having to relocate in order to be with his wife.
"As an Australian citizen I don’t feel that my basic rights have been met."
Do you think the government's decision to reject Barbara's visa is fair?
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