Autistic boy wins right to stay

Case made headlines after one of Tyrone’s young friends raised a question about case

An autistic Filipino boy whose fight against deportation from Australia prompted tens of thousands to petition the government on his behalf will be allowed to stay, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said yesterday.

Tyrone Sevilla arrived in Australia as a two year old with his nurse mother Maria Sevilla.

But after eight years in the country, the pair were denied continuing visas due to the probable cost of providing for Tyrone’s care, with Maria Sevilla saying they had been labelled a “burden” to taxpayers.

Dutton said he had the decision.

“I looked at the case and I have determined we will provide these people with a permanent arrangement and permanent outcome in Australia and I think that’s good for them,” he said.

“I’m very pleased we can provide the assistance to a young boy who is in need of medical and educational support and as a generous country that’s what we do.”

The case made

overturned

headlines after one of Tyrone’s young friends raised a question about the case on a live national television programme.

“If he can get along with us and we can get along with him, why does he have to leave?” the child, who went to after school care with Tyrone, asked.

More than 120,000 people subsequently signed a petition addressed to Dutton to keep Tyrone and his mother, a registered nurse at Townsville Hospital. The Queensland Nurses’ Union, which helped campaign on their behalf, said the pair were yet to be officially notified of the decision but were thrilled with the news.