Connect with us
Advertisement

World News

Australia Warns Missing African Athletes To Turn Themselves In Or Face Deportation

Published

on

Nigeria, Others Affected As UK Hikes Visa Fees, Health Surcharge
Advertisement

US visa seekers will have to disclose social media

Turn Yourself In Or Get Deported, Peter Dutton Tells Missing Athletes

In respect to the African athletes that went missing during the Commonwealth Games, Peter Dutton, Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs, has advised them to turn themselves in or face being deported.

Report has it that eight athletes from Cameroon, two from Uganda and a Rwanda para-power-lifting coach went missing from the April 4-15 Games at the Gold Coast.

Advertisement

Unless the athletes have taken legal steps to stay, They will be in Australia illegally from midnight on Tuesday when their visas expire.

If they breach the conditions, they’re subject to enforcement action,” Dutton told reporters on Tuesday.

“Like anyone else, they’re expected to operate within the law, and enforcement action will take place to identify those people and to deport them if they don’t self-declare.”

Advertisement

Some of the athletes had contacted a refugee advice centre in Sydney, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.

Some have been to us for advice,” Ben Lumsdaine, a solicitor at the Refugee Advice and Casework Service, told the paper on Tuesday.

Australia’s immigration authorities often grant temporary ‘bridging’ visas that allow in-country residency applicants to remain while their cases are assessed.

Advertisement
Advertisement

The eight Cameroon athletes comprised one-third of its 24-athlete delegation to the Gold Coast Games. Illegal immigration is a highly contentious political issue in Australia.

Australia’s hardline immigration policy, which requires asylum seekers intercepted at sea to be sent for processing to camps in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, has been condemned by human rights groups.

Australia defends its tough law by saying it deters people from making dangerous sea journeys to try to reach its shores after thousands drowned.