British couple face deportation for living in wrong Oz suburb

A British couple is threatened with deportation from Australia due to their mistakenly buying a home three miles from their allocated location.

Former Dundee residents George and Lana Breen were granted a visa stating they must live in a specified regional area of Brisbane rather than in the city itself. The visa had been granted as part of a scheme aimed at luring migrants to rural areas outside major Australian cities.

The couple arrived in Australia five years ago, and set up home without realising that their new home was in a suburban area of Brisbane deemed to be a part of the city. They only discovered their mistake when they applied for permanent residency permits two years ago and were refused.

Their home is just 2.9 miles from the rural area of Browns Plains, the area of residency in which they had permission to live. According to a spokesperson from the Immigration Department, the couple’s visa was only valid for the regional area postcode stated.

Disability worker Mrs Breen told the press they had no idea they’d chosen the wrong area, and had found it difficult to find a home in other areas. She added she was devastated at having to leave, as they’d formed a network of friends and worked hard since they arrived.

Ian Mulvey, father of a disabled boy Mrs Breen has been caring for over the past three years, told Channel 7 that she’d improved his son’s quality of life enormously, adding that the deportation decision made nonsense of the Australian way of giving a person a fair go. The Breen’s recent appeal over the decision has failed, and their deportation is due on March 7.

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