Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has asked the Home Office to explain why an Indonesian man was detained for three days after arriving in Australia on a tourist visa before returning home.
For Juntak Endo Shimantaku, the end of his dream vacation so abruptly has left him and his family traumatized as they continue to question why the visit went so poorly.
The 27-year-old arrived at Perth Airport on a late-night flight on August 16, excited to see his brother Jeffrey, sister-in-law Ellie and their 4-year-old daughter.
His niece was waiting to greet him with a handwritten autograph when he arrived. [uncle] Endo” – letters made with colored pencils.
Endo’s niece holding a sign welcoming Endo to Australia. sauce: attached
However, the family never got the chance to greet him in person, and a border patrol officer made the decision to cancel his tourist visa, forcing Endo to return home after just three days.
The decision resulted in Endo being banned from traveling to Australia for three years.
“[I] I’m still very sad because my visa has been banned,” Endo, who doesn’t speak English fluently, told SBS News through his brother Jeffrey, who acts as an interpreter.
“[I] very very sad…because i couldn’t see it [my family]”
I am very, very sad because I didn’t get to see my family…
Endo Shimanjun Taku
Endo was deported after the Home Ministry personally admitted that he intended to do “plastering work” during his stay. tourism purpose.
Mr. Endo came to Australia to visit his sister-in-law, Ellie, his four-year-old niece, and his brother, Jeffrey. sauce: attached
The reason for the cancellation was seen by SBS News in a Home Office document released to visa applicants under the Freedom of Information Act. He claims he was denied access to an interpreter during interrogation at the airport by Border Patrol agents that decided his fate.
A Home Ministry document outlining the reasons behind Endo’s tourist visa revocation. sauce: attached
The visa has been revoked under Section 116 of the Immigration Act. The law stipulates that a visa can be revoked if the holder is found not to “comply” with its conditions.
In a statement, a government spokesperson told SBS News that immigration minister Andrew Giles has asked for more information about the case.
“While ministers are unable to comment on individual cases due to privacy obligations, they are aware of the issues raised in this article and have requested a briefing from the Home Office on this matter,” they said. rice field.
“The Albanian government is committed to a migration program that does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, language, sexuality, gender or religion.”
dream holiday gone wrong
Mr. Endo came to Perth from a village in Sumatra, Indonesia, where he worked in a restaurant. This trip was his first time abroad.
The tourist visa he used to travel had already been approved for use by Australian authorities, and the cost was sponsored by his brother and sister-in-law.
Visitor visas (subclass 600) are for tourists, business visitors and people who want to visit family for 3, 6 or 12 months and cost up to $380.
The Home Office website outlines that visa applicants “must have or have access to sufficient money to assist.” [themselves] in the meantime [they] I’m in Australia.”
Endo was scheduled to stay for three months.
This visa is different from the Visitor (subclass 651) visa which allows you to visit Australia for less than 3 months. This visa is not available to Indonesian citizens, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Endo said he began being questioned by Border Patrol officers about his reasons for visiting Australia as soon as he arrived in Perth.
“when [I] Arrived at the airport – [the Border Force officer] Asked [me] what is soon [you] Here? said Endo.[I] I said I’m here for vacation.
Endo said he was then asked to show his bank account balance to a border patrol officer to demonstrate how he intended to sustain his life during his stay.
Endo (second from right), sister-in-law Ellie (far right), and brother Jeffrey (far left). on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. sauce: attached
Sponsors may be required to post a security deposit of $5,000 to $15,000 to secure the visit, according to the Department of the Interior’s website. Endo’s sister-in-law and brother-in-law were not required to do so, but Endo’s application required them to provide bank statements to prove their income.
Endo said he told a border patrol officer that his family would pay for his travel expenses during his stay.
“[I] Said I didn’t need money because my brother and sister-in-law would pay for everything [I am] here. ”
According to Endo, he was then taken to a room for further questioning by Border Patrol officers who were dissatisfied with his responses to initial inquiries.
“he took [me] I went to the room and asked him the same question again. “What are you here for?” Endo said.
“[He said] you have to be here for work. [I] I said no. i am here for vacation. ”
important question
From here, Endo’s explanation of what happened during the interrogation is disputed as outlined in the department’s official reasons for its decision.
The document read: ‘In a formal interview with an Australian Border Patrol officer, you stated that you were here for leave and to work as a plasterer’.
“Based on verbal permission from the visa holder, the visa holder is satisfied that he is not traveling for the purpose of tourism for which the visa was granted.”
Endo said he had neither admitted nor claimed to do so, even though he told officials he did not speak good English.
He said he kept getting asked if he intended to work in Australia.
“they asked [me] same question and push [me] after that [I] I got scared,” he said.
“They are asking [me] – “No, you must be working here for your brother, aren’t you?”
“[I] “Yes, my brother is a plasterer,” he said.
Endo told border patrol officers to “work around the house, clean, [looking] rear [his brother’s] Daughter”, but he never said that he would work as a plasterer.
Mr. Endo is not qualified to be a plasterer.
“[I] because it confuses [I] Don’t speak English,” he said.
An official Home Ministry document about the cancellation states that an interpreter “was not used” in an interview with Endo.
“Why was he targeted?”
His sister-in-law, Ellie, said the family, who had been waiting at the airport for a while, became more anxious as time passed and Endo was not seen. A Border Patrol officer then came out and asked directly about Endo’s visit to Australia.
Ellie said at the time that the family had spoken directly to a Border Patrol officer that Endo needed an interpreter to help him.
“I said to them, ‘Do you have an interpreter?'”
“They said they didn’t have an interpreter. I said, ‘He doesn’t speak English.'”
Mr. Endo with his sister-in-law, brother and niece in Indonesia. sauce: attached
Early the next morning, Ellie and Jeffrey left the airport to take their daughter home. Shortly thereafter, he received a phone call from his family.
“They called me and said, ‘His visa has been revoked, that’s the end of the story.'”
Ellie said her family was “shocked” by the decision.
“Why was he targeted? And why wasn’t he given an interpreter and why didn’t they listen to him? I can’t believe this happens to people.”
After his visa was revoked, Endo was held at the Aloft Perth Hotel for three days before being deported to Indonesia. Ellie said her family went to the hotel to wave through the window, but she was not given permission to meet in person.
Cancellation of tourist visa
SBS News has obtained data from the Ministry of Interior on the number of tourist visa cancellations following interviews with border guard officials.
According to statistics, from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2022, there were 8,079 such decisions across all tourist visa categories, mainly for suspected violations of visa conditions.
Top 10 nationalities whose Australian tourist visas have been cancelled. sauce: SBS News / Kenneth MacLeod
Of these cancellations, the top three countries by arrival are Malaysia (2,700), China (2,100) and India (400). During that time, visas for Indonesian citizens were canceled 100 times.
The number of cancellations has been severely limited in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It reached 3,844 in fiscal 2017-18, but fell to 1,467 in 2019-2022, less than 5 in 2020-21, and less than 70 in 2021-2022.
Due to border closures, international arrivals are prohibited from entering Australia without an exemption from March 2020 to February 2022.
allegations of racism
In another recent case in September, the Home Office was forced to admit “judicial error” in connection with subsequent decisions.
Immigration authorities had informed the man that his visa had been revoked because he did not travel with the “designated travel companion” listed on his visa application. But officials later admitted in the Melbourne Court of the Federal Circuit that their decision to revoke their visas was affected by “judicial error.”
Western Australia’s Ethnic Community Council president Suresh Rajan is concerned about a ‘worrying trend’ from Australian Border Patrol officers in relation to the Australian Border Agency’s approach to revoking tourist visas. said.
“It doesn’t look like they apply these rules to white Anglo-Celtic people,” he said.
“We simply apply these rules to darker-skinned people and people from culturally diverse backgrounds.
“It’s a real concern. It needs to be addressed very quickly.”
Giles said his legacy as Immigration Minister was an immigration program with a “clear sense” of the “state-building” value of immigration to Australia and the “huge” contribution it would make to Australia. said he wanted to
Like many families with relatives abroad, Endo was unable to visit his brother, sister-in-law and niece due to travel restrictions during the pandemic.
Endo-san with my niece in Indonesia. sauce: attached
Ellie also said she now suffers from a medical condition called chronic dizziness, which makes her unwilling to fly and makes traveling to Indonesia difficult.
Endo hopes that the visa revocation and three-year ban will be overturned so he can spend time with his family.
“[I] hoping [I] I’ll be back as usual [I] You can visit here in Australia,” he said.
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