Friday, July 24, 2020

Australians Citizens Stranded in India Seeking Financial Support From The Government

                          Lakhpreet Singh with his Family
Melbourne resident Lakhpreet Singh had travelled to India along with his wife and two children in February where they remain stranded four months later.  

Unable to book tickets on the limited flights available, the 38-year-old who works as an operator at a bank’s security centre said he is struggling to keep up with his mortgage payments back in Australia while also paying for his family’s prolonged stay in India.

“On one hand I have exhausted my annual leave, which means I am living on my savings and to add to our woes, we stopped receiving our fortnightly family support income because we have been overseas for more than six weeks,” he said.

“The government must start thinking about Australians abroad. They must allow people like us who are stranded offshore due to no fault of their own to access COVID grants so we do not deplete our savings and can survive here till the time we return,” he said.
Australians travelling home
     Rajveer Kaur

Melbourne-based support worker Rajveer Kaur who has also been stuck with her family in Rajasthan in north India said she has made multiple claims for support payment outlining her family’s financial circumstances, only to be rejected each time.

“I am also studying to become a registered nurse, so I tried applying for crisis support payment available for residents who are studying to supplement their income but they said I wasn’t eligible. Later I applied for JobSeeker payment but was again rejected because they said you need to be onshore to lodge your claim,” said Ms Kaur.
Dr.Gurdeep Kaur
Associate Professor
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College
University Of Delhi







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