Gays are different: Aussie immigration minister

Australian Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone has conceded that gay couples entering Australia on temporary visas are treated differently from heterosexual couples under immigration laws. She said that the discrimination came about because gay couples were not recognised as a family.

Senator Vanstone said she accepted the situation between heterosexual and homosexual couples differed but her office said there were no plans to change the law.

Same-sex partners of permanent residents and citizens are however recognised as partners under immigration laws.

"It's different because the visa structure was set up to accommodate families and at this point in Australia we don't recognise gay couples as being a family in the same sense as we do a husband and wife, maybe with kids," she told ABC radio.

She said some gay couples had addressed the anomaly by entering Australia on a tourist visa with their partner who held a temporary work visa and then applied for a separate working visa.

"That is different (to heterosexual families), I accept that," she said. "And I think it's a difficult proposition either way because as I say we don't recognise homosexual couples as being a family and that's the way the immigration system in relation to families is structured so it's not an easy situation, I accept that."

Source: www.fridae.com April 13.

Nevertheless, isn't it much easier for an Ozzie to bring his boyfriend over to Oz than it is for an American to bring his B/F to the USA?

My experience with Aussie immigration reflects this policy. Our initial application had my Thai as manager of my house, an employee with no mention of a relationship. Rejected.

In the interview following the rejection, the full nature of our relationship came out, it was a year at the time. Likewise, the more we got into his integration into "my family", daughter and son in law in Australia, the more reasonable the interviewer became. When my daughters position in her company and her husbands position in the company became known and our full time stay was in "our home" with them, the rejection was recinded.

Next time with two years together, the only question the counter girl asked was "Is this the same falang you went with last time"

The minister's comments seem also to be directed to "immigrants" those attempt to re-locate to Australia as a couple. This is provided for in Australian immigration law for gays after a minimum year of cohabitation and the U.S. does not so provide at this time.