An elderly man from the United Kingdom who served a prison sentence for sexually abusing his step-granddaughter when she was nine has had his Australian permanent resident visa reinstated by a tribunal.
The case involved the automatic revocation of his visa after he was sentenced to prison. He successfully appealed that decision, with the tribunal finding that his “strong ties to Australia” supported reinstating the visa.
The man was sentenced in February 2024 to 14 months in prison by the Western Australia district court. The court found that he had molested the girl in the presence of another child.
The tribunal’s decision has drawn attention because the underlying offence involved child sexual abuse, yet the visa cancellation was overturned on appeal. The published account says the man had been living with strong personal connections in Australia, which was a key factor in the tribunal’s reasoning.
Australian immigration law allows certain non-citizens to have visas cancelled or revoked after criminal convictions, particularly where there is a prison sentence. In this case, however, the man was able to argue successfully that the automatic revocation should not stand.
The matter highlights the tension between visa cancellation powers and appeals based on personal and family connections. It also comes against the backdrop of ongoing scrutiny of how tribunals assess character issues in migration cases involving serious offending.
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