Key Points
- Andrea Tindiani has been granted Australian permanent residency.
- After 12 years in Australia, the Italian citizen had been facing deportation and separation from his son.
- Immigration Minister Andrew Giles exercised his public interest power in the case.
Mr Tindiani recalled the moment in early November when his immigration lawyer called him up with a cryptic message.
“Andrea, you won't need to call me tomorrow to find out what's happening with your visa,” he recalled the lawyer saying.
Not quite understanding, Mr Tindiani worried that he was being reprimanded for calling too often.
That's when his lawyer explained that there would be no need to call about that issue ever again.
Minister for Immigration Andrew Giles had granted him permanent residency, putting an end to the daily checks on the progress of his case, to months of anxiety, and to years of uncertainty.
LISTEN TO
Marley’s dad may not be around on Father’s Day if the immigration minister doesn’t intervene
SBS Italian
17/08/202311:36
By mid-2023, Italian-born Mr Tindiani had run out of viable visa options to lawfully remain in Australia, after many years of jumping between working holiday visas, student visas and trying to obtain sponsorship from his former employer.
The reason Mr Tindiani had wanted to stay was Marley, his nine-year old son, a "beautiful gift" from a now-ended relationship with Australian woman Emily.
Although there are visas available for foreign nationals who are parents of Australian citizens, none of them applied in Mr Tindiani’s case.
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal had rejected his last appeal in August, but in the letter of rejection it recommended his case to Mr Giles.
He received a Bridging Visa E while additional documents were considered.
These are stories that happen, and they happen more often than we expect.Andrea Tindiani
The ministerial intervention is the last hope for those who cannot otherwise obtain an Australian visa, and has a very low acceptance rate.
According to the , "ministerial intervention is not part of the visa process and very few requests for ministerial intervention are successful. The Minister is not obliged to consider your case or to intervene in your case".
The Tribunal expressed that Mr Tindiani was a devoted parent and his departure would have caused Marley, an Australian citizen, “serious, continuous and irreversible damage”.
ASCOLTA LA TERZA INTERVISTA AD ANDREA TINDIANI
Marley e il papà Andrea sono ancora insieme ma il loro futuro resta incerto
SBS Italian
14/09/202308:57
“There are more than 5,000 cases on the minister's desk,” Mr Tindiani said, still incredulous at his happy outcome.
“I had done everything I could do: the legal campaign, the social campaign, the documents, what I did as a father for Marley,“ he recalled.
It's important to fight for what's important to us. For me, my son is everything.Andrea Tindiani
Mr Tindiani said that if “the Australian immigration system is more complicated than what many think,” in the end “it recognises what is important: family, the care of a child by the parents.”
He reflected on his choice to make his story public.
“I am not the only one. There have been five people who contacted me directly, telling me, 'I am in the same situation as you,'” he said.
As he was celebrating his coveted permanent residency, Mr Tindiani also felt a sense of guilt.
“In three months, I've solved everything, there are people who are in this situation for years. I'm one of the lucky ones,” he said.
Young Marley was the last to know about this life-changing news, as he was away at school camp that weekend.
Yet when Mr Tindiani went to fetch him and shared the news, Marley showed little surprise.
Marley, with a big smile, told me: 'I already knew that, dad.'Andrea Tindiani
