Sameer Mutreja, who has lived in Australia for eight years, regards the country as his home. Originally from India, he arrived in Sydney in 2017 on a student visa, where he earned two university degrees in project management while working part-time in construction. Recognising his skills, the New South Wales government invited him to apply for a state-sponsored permanent residency visa in January 2020.
However, his plans took a turn when the COVID-19 pandemic caused significant delays in visa processing. Although Mutreja was co-owning a local construction company and had passed all required checks, he faced a two-year wait before his application was finally processed. During this time, he experienced severe health issues following a bad reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine, which led to a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) in early 2022.
Despite managing his condition effectively with lifestyle changes and medication, Mutreja was shocked to learn in January 2023 that his permanent visa application had been denied, primarily due to the cost of his healthcare potentially exceeding the government’s “significant cost threshold” of $86,000 over ten years. This ruling deemed him an economic burden.
He expressed frustration over this decision, feeling it was unjust as he had adhered to all regulations and had been a tax-paying resident from the beginning. Mutreja’s current treatment involves affordable generic drugs that do not contribute to excessive healthcare costs.
In a fortunate turn of events, Immigration Minister Tony Burke intervened and granted permanent residency to Mutreja shortly after his case garnered media attention, indicating flaws in the blanket policy that automatically disqualifies applicants with certain health conditions. Mutreja has called for a more personalised assessment process for such cases and has lodged an appeal with the Administrative Review Tribunal, now facing a potential four-year wait for a resolution.
Moreover, the Department of Home Affairs recently conducted a review of their policy, acknowledging that the existing health requirement assessment does not accommodate advancements in medical treatments and may unfairly impact individuals with managed conditions. A spokesperson stated that the health requirement aims to protect the community and manage public expenditure.
Mutreja hopes his experience will contribute to reevaluating health guidelines for visa applicants, advocating for a system that considers individual circumstances.