Arabic version: أسرة من تويد تطلب تخفيفاً في إجراءات التأشيرة لأم كينية
According to ABC News, a northern New South Wales family is seeking special consideration from immigration authorities to prevent six-year-old Thanasi Kuzeff being separated from his Kenyan mother, Leah Wambui Sore, when her extended tourist visa expires on December 1.
Ms Sore arrived in Australia on a visitor visa in January to be with Thanasi, who was born in Kenya and lived with her there until he was four. He has Australian citizenship through his father, Daniel Kuzeff. In 2024, Ms Sore, Mr Kuzeff and his partner agreed Thanasi would relocate permanently to Australia for the opportunities and life available there.
The family has lodged an application for a subclass 143 contributory parent visa, for which Mr Kuzeff said they paid $50,000. The Department of Home Affairs estimates final processing for that visa class at 15 years, while parent or aged parent visas have an estimated 33-year wait. Mr Kuzeff said a child’s age should be considered in parent-visa processing.
Between 2022 and 2025, Ms Sore applied once for a student visa and four times for tourist visas. She was granted a tourist visa in 2025 after an Administrative Review Tribunal appeal. She said she was living “a day at a time” as the prospect of another separation weighed heavily on her.
Sydney University public law professor and immigration law specialist Mary Crock said visa waits reflected government immigration priorities and application volumes. The federal government set the annual permanent migration program at 185,000 places in May, with about 28 per cent allocated to family visas. Of 52,460 family visa places, about 7,000 are for parents, with priority given to migrants already in Australia. A department spokesperson said a child’s citizenship does not automatically give a parent a pathway to permanent residence.
