Thanasi’s childhood is happening now
Thanasi is six years old. Australia is his home.

His dad, younger brother and baby sister are here. His school, friends and community are here. After spending a significant part of his young life separated from her, his mum is finally here too.

Thanasi’s mum, Leah Wambui Sore, is a Kenyan citizen. The adults in Thanasi’s life have worked together for years with one shared goal: to give him the opportunity to grow up in Australia with meaningful relationships with his mum, dad and younger siblings.

We are asking for help protecting something that cannot be returned to Thanasi later:

his childhood.

Years of separation
Before Leah was finally able to visit Thanasi in Australia, she had four Visitor Visa applications refused.

After seeking professional immigration advice, we faced an extraordinarily difficult decision. Thanasi came to Australia and spent the entirety of 2024 living here without his mum.

For Leah, this meant allowing her only child to live on the other side of the world. For Thanasi, it meant establishing his life in Australia without his mum physically beside him.

During that year, Thanasi developed friendships, strengthened his relationship with his younger brother and became part of his Australian community. He later began school at Fingal Head Public School, where he is now part of a small, close-knit community.

When Leah’s next Visitor Visa application was refused, we challenged the decision through the Administrative Review Tribunal.

The Tribunal heard directly from Leah and Daniel and considered the family’s circumstances and the cooperation between everyone involved.

It recognised the extraordinary difficulty of Leah’s decision to allow her only child to live in another country. The Tribunal Member observed that Leah was genuine in her emotion and recognised her desire to provide the everyday support and “on the ground love” a mother would want to give a child “at such a tender age.”

The Member said:

“These cases are about real people.”

The Tribunal ultimately set aside the refusal and returned Leah’s Visitor Visa application to the Department for reconsideration.

Thanasi finally had his mum with him
Following the Tribunal process, Leah was granted a Visitor Visa and arrived in Australia on 1 January 2026.

For the first time since establishing his life here, Thanasi could have both parents physically present in the country where he is growing up.

Since then, Leah has been part of the ordinary moments of his childhood: school, homework, activities, weekends, family time and simply being there when he needs his mum.

These things may sound ordinary.

That is exactly the point.

They are the everyday experiences of childhood that Thanasi had spent a long time without.

He has also continued growing up alongside his younger brother and baby sister. These relationships are being formed now and matter enormously to our family.

We have pursued a lawful long-term pathway
We have never expected Visitor Visas to provide a permanent solution.

After obtaining professional immigration advice, we formally lodged a Subclass 143 Contributory Parent Visa application for Leah. This is the lawful long-term migration pathway we are pursuing.

The difficulty is that Parent Visas can take many years to process.

For an adult, those years are a waiting period.

For a six-year-old, they are his childhood.

A permanent outcome many years from now cannot return the birthdays, school years, weekends with siblings and ordinary mornings with Mum that have already passed.

We now face another deadline
Leah’s current permission to remain in Australia expires on 1 December 2026. Her visa also carries a No Further Stay condition.

We respect that a Visitor Visa is temporary. We also understand that being the parent of an Australian citizen does not automatically give someone the right to remain permanently in Australia.

We are not asking for Australia’s immigration laws to be ignored.

We are asking what lawful and sustainable pathway could protect Thanasi’s childhood while Leah’s Parent Visa application progresses.

Because the person ultimately living with the consequences is not an immigration lawyer, politician or government official.

He is a six-year-old Australian boy.

Every birthday happens once.

Every school year happens once.

Every weekend with his younger brother happens once.

Every ordinary morning with his mum happens once.

Thanasi’s relationships, friendships and sense of belonging are being formed now.

Those years cannot be returned to him later.

The child behind the immigration file
Thanasi attends Fingal Head Public School, a small school of approximately 35 students. In a community this size, people do not simply recognise him—they know him.

His principal and classroom teacher have offered to provide professional letters about Thanasi’s connection to his school, friendships, wellbeing and sense of belonging. They can also speak about Leah’s involvement in his school life and their observations of the relationship between mother and son.

People from Thanasi’s previous early-learning community also know him and have seen his relationship with his younger brother.

We are not asking teachers, educators or community members to decide what visa Leah should receive. We are asking them to help decision-makers understand the real Australian child whose life is affected by these decisions.

This petition is a family and community initiative. It is not sponsored, coordinated or formally endorsed by Fingal Head Public School or the NSW Department of Education.

What we are asking
We respectfully ask the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, the Hon Tony Burke MP, to give serious consideration to Thanasi’s circumstances.

We ask that every lawful avenue be considered for a sustainable interim solution that would allow Leah to remain meaningfully present in Thanasi’s life in Australia while her long-term Parent Visa application progresses.

We are not asking the public to decide which visa Leah should receive, nor are we asking for Australia’s immigration laws to be bypassed.

We are asking whether the immigration system can find a lawful answer for an Australian child caught between a temporary visa and a permanent pathway that may take many years.

We have pursued the available lawful processes, obtained professional advice, succeeded at independent Tribunal review and lodged the long-term Parent Visa application.

Now we are asking the Australian Government to consider the child at the centre of those processes.

As the Tribunal Member said:

“These cases are about real people.”

Thanasi is one of them—and his childhood is happening now.