A WA grandfather who spent 43 years living in Australia has been deported to the UK after a last-minute appeal against the cancellation of his visa was rejected.
Stephen Pokrywka, who was sentenced to six years in jail in 2019 for attempting to supply methylamphetamine, was not allowed to see his family in person before being deported on Wednesday.
In February, a parole board recommended he be released from jail; however, Pokrywka is not an Australian citizen and his visa was cancelled because he had been convicted of a crime carrying a sentence of more than 12 months.
Had he simply applied for Australian citizenship at any point in his adult life, he could have avoided deportation upon his release.
Pokrywka was sent to Yongah Hill Detention Centre in Northam, 95 kilometres northwest of Perth, where he appealed the deportation order he received at the start of his prison sentence.
The father of six and grandfather of 10 had lived in Australia since he was 12 and said he had no ties to the UK and had never thought about applying for Australian citizenship.
In a desperate appeal on Tuesday, Pokrywka, 55, asked the federal court to allow her to stay in Australia to care for her 12-year-old daughter, but her appeal was rejected.
“I went straight from the court hearing… to a visit with my 12-year-old daughter and I just couldn’t contain my emotions, I was absolutely devastated,” he said. ABC.
Australian grandfather Stephen Pokrywka (pictured), who spent 43 years living in Australia, was deported to the UK after a last-minute appeal against the cancellation of his visa was rejected.
‘What I’m feeling now and the pain and anguish I heard from my family when I told them… I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
“I thought common sense would prevail.”
Pokrywka visited Britain only once after leaving as a child, and was worried about the life that now awaited him there, needing to find somewhere to live and a job.
Your first week of accommodation in the UK will be paid for by the Australian Government.
“But after that, there is nothing concrete,” Pokrywka said.
His daughter Jess, 21, said the whole family was being punished by her father, who she said was “a very responsible man”, being sent back to the UK.
“He’s not just sad about being deported, but he’s focused on his family and wants to take care of his parents, take care of his family,” she said.
Jess said the government “should be trying to keep our families together rather than tearing them apart.”
A father of six and grandfather of ten, he had lived in Australia since he was 12 and said he had no ties to the UK and had not thought about applying for Australian citizenship. Pokrywka is pictured left with members of his family.
“I don’t think it’s fair, especially for my 12-year-old sister, to not have a father. It’s like your father has passed away and he’s still alive,” she said.
Lawyer Gerry Georgatos said cases like this were increasing, with more than 1,000 people being removed from Australia each year after the Migration Act was changed under the last coalition government.
Mr. Georgatos argued that the government should not deport those “who have family ties in this country, people who have lived here their whole lives.”
“It has become an exercise in vote buying, in being heavy-handed with people, in being heavy-handed with crime,” he said.