Exclusive: Sameer Mutreja has spent eight years living in Australia and says he considers it his home.
Upon his arrival in Sydney from India in 2017 on a student visa, Mutreja successfully completed two university degrees in project management while simultaneously working part-time in the construction industry.
Recognized as an exceptional candidate for permanent residency due to his valuable skills, Mutreja received an invitation from the New South Wales government in January 2020 to apply for a state-sponsored visa.
The report found almost 2300 visa applicants exceeded the significant cost threshold in 2022-2023.
The total estimated costs of the health services hypothetically required by those visa applicants was $1.06 billion.Â
Nevertheless, a report discovered that the existing 30-year-old policy did not align with current medical advancements and unfairly hindered individuals with stable and well-managed health conditions, including HIV, Crohn’s Disease, and skin ailments like psoriasis, from obtaining permanent visas.
A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs said the department was unable to comment on individual cases.
“The Department of Home Affairs administers the health requirement to protect the community from public health and safety risks, contain public expenditure on health care and community services, and safeguard the access of Australian citizens and permanent residents to health care and community services,” the spokesperson said.
“The health requirement is not condition-specific and the assessment is undertaken individually for each applicant based on their condition and level of severity.”
