Elijah John Porter (previously Keven Maylalong) at 3 years of age is being threatened with separation from his legally adopted family who have cared for him since he was 28 days old to be deported to Vanuatu where no one wants to care for him and his life is in potential danger!
The Porters and Elijah need your urgent help to fund the legal process needed to fight this inhumane Government threat!
Elijah was Born in Vanuatu on 29th April 2018. Elijah’s birth parents were not able to care for Elijah as their older son has many medical problems and, for a number of cultural reasons, Elijah’s life was in danger.
Gary and Colette Porter from Moama NSW Australia had sold their house and business in 2018 to fund their overseas tourism business in partnership with local people in Vanuatu.
In May 2018 a dentist who had spent time with Elijah’s birth Mum made an emergency call to Gary and Colette to save Elijah’s life. They said "Yes" without any hesitation. and Gary flew to Vanuatu and had Elijah safe in his care at 28 days old.
Elijah’s adoption process was delayed because of the death of Gary’s Vanuatu business partner but Elijah was finally and legally adopted by Gary and Colette in Vanuatu on the 4th February 2020. They immediately applied for a tourism visa to bring Elijah to Australia to be with his new family (Gary Colette and their 4 daughters and one son) and Elijah was granted a 3-year visa with a restriction that Elijah had to return to Vanuatu every three months. This visa at least gave the family enough time to apply for Elijah's permanent residency. Then COVID-19 caused the international borders to be shut down. Gary flew home with Elijah on 16th March 2020 which brought great joy to their family and finally gave Elijah a family and home with time to settle here in Australia. Unfortunately, the government then cancelled his 3-year visa and the Porters were forced to reapply for another visa but only a 9-month visa was issued.
They applied to the Immigration Minister for help as Elijah’s visa was to expire on 7th May 2021 and there was not another visa that was "applicable" to Elijah’s unique situation. The government (our government!!) finally replied at 4.55 pm on Friday 7th May, the day the visa was due to expire suggesting that Elijah needed to apply for the COVID-19 visa but this visa was not applicable to children. Elijah is now classified by our government as an illegal immigrant!! His adoption is not recognised by the Australian government due to our foreign policy on international adoption laws and Vanuatu is one of the few countries not included in any agreements within those laws.
Gary and Colette have seen a migration lawyer who urgently advised them to apply for a Permanent Resident 802 Visa. This visa will allow the adoption to be recognised through a compassionate and compelling circumstances clause.
But this is a race against time and comes at a cost of $8,000.00 - $10,000.00 including legal fees. This is not possible for Gary and Colette to raise given Gary’s unemployment situation in the cruise industry and Colette is currently working 3 jobs to support the family. So we need to help raise this money as soon as possible!
So, Elijah is now at risk of immediate deportation and DFAT and Family Services officers could intervene and seize Elijah (yes, at 3 years of age!) at any time. This would obviously be distressing to him and devastating to his mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.
We as concerned friends and community are now trying to urgently raise enough funds to keep Elijah here in Moama with his family and the only family he has known. Elijah has learnt to speak English, loves playing football with his brother Patrick and soaks up all the love and fun from his sisters and he loves playing with the family dog, Sampson. He sleeps in his cot every night in Gary and Colette’s bedroom and is safe and secure from all but our own Australian government. He is a happy, strong, healthy boy who loves his family and his home life in Moama! He is very much loved by his family and they could not bear the thought of Elijah being taken away from them.
Please help us keep Elijah in Australia with his family in a race against time!!
The Porters and Elijah need your urgent help to fund the legal process needed to fight this inhumane Government threat!
Elijah was Born in Vanuatu on 29th April 2018. Elijah’s birth parents were not able to care for Elijah as their older son has many medical problems and, for a number of cultural reasons, Elijah’s life was in danger.
Gary and Colette Porter from Moama NSW Australia had sold their house and business in 2018 to fund their overseas tourism business in partnership with local people in Vanuatu.
In May 2018 a dentist who had spent time with Elijah’s birth Mum made an emergency call to Gary and Colette to save Elijah’s life. They said "Yes" without any hesitation. and Gary flew to Vanuatu and had Elijah safe in his care at 28 days old.
Elijah’s adoption process was delayed because of the death of Gary’s Vanuatu business partner but Elijah was finally and legally adopted by Gary and Colette in Vanuatu on the 4th February 2020. They immediately applied for a tourism visa to bring Elijah to Australia to be with his new family (Gary Colette and their 4 daughters and one son) and Elijah was granted a 3-year visa with a restriction that Elijah had to return to Vanuatu every three months. This visa at least gave the family enough time to apply for Elijah's permanent residency. Then COVID-19 caused the international borders to be shut down. Gary flew home with Elijah on 16th March 2020 which brought great joy to their family and finally gave Elijah a family and home with time to settle here in Australia. Unfortunately, the government then cancelled his 3-year visa and the Porters were forced to reapply for another visa but only a 9-month visa was issued.
They applied to the Immigration Minister for help as Elijah’s visa was to expire on 7th May 2021 and there was not another visa that was "applicable" to Elijah’s unique situation. The government (our government!!) finally replied at 4.55 pm on Friday 7th May, the day the visa was due to expire suggesting that Elijah needed to apply for the COVID-19 visa but this visa was not applicable to children. Elijah is now classified by our government as an illegal immigrant!! His adoption is not recognised by the Australian government due to our foreign policy on international adoption laws and Vanuatu is one of the few countries not included in any agreements within those laws.
Gary and Colette have seen a migration lawyer who urgently advised them to apply for a Permanent Resident 802 Visa. This visa will allow the adoption to be recognised through a compassionate and compelling circumstances clause.
But this is a race against time and comes at a cost of $8,000.00 - $10,000.00 including legal fees. This is not possible for Gary and Colette to raise given Gary’s unemployment situation in the cruise industry and Colette is currently working 3 jobs to support the family. So we need to help raise this money as soon as possible!
So, Elijah is now at risk of immediate deportation and DFAT and Family Services officers could intervene and seize Elijah (yes, at 3 years of age!) at any time. This would obviously be distressing to him and devastating to his mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.
We as concerned friends and community are now trying to urgently raise enough funds to keep Elijah here in Moama with his family and the only family he has known. Elijah has learnt to speak English, loves playing football with his brother Patrick and soaks up all the love and fun from his sisters and he loves playing with the family dog, Sampson. He sleeps in his cot every night in Gary and Colette’s bedroom and is safe and secure from all but our own Australian government. He is a happy, strong, healthy boy who loves his family and his home life in Moama! He is very much loved by his family and they could not bear the thought of Elijah being taken away from them.
Please help us keep Elijah in Australia with his family in a race against time!!
Organizer and beneficiary
Colette Porter
Beneficiary