A paperwork mistake 14 years ago could see South Australian woman deported to Taiwan

Ying-Hsi Chou’s family is on the brink of being torn apart.

Born in Myanmar in the 1980s, she was restricted from having a Chinese name, despite her ethnic Chinese background.

Chou later moved to Taiwan in 2002, as an 18-year-old, and became a citizen before adopting her current Chinese name.

She couldn’t have known at the time that her new name — a decision she made in defiance of repressive Myanmar authorities — would cause trouble.

She couldn’t have known at the time the issues her new name — a decision she made in defiance of repressive Myanmar authorities — would cause trouble.

In 2012 she made her first trip to Australia, working as a fruitpicker.

She travelled back to Taiwan, but then in 2014 she moved back to Australia, met her husband Ben and had three children.

It was these trips that caused the current paperwork headache.

Her lawyer, Gordon Chang, says Chou now faces deportation within days because of a passport form she completed, in 2012.

“The new passport and old passport had different names, and she has made a very big misjudgement in her life,” he said.

“She had forgot to fill in the form that she previously come to Australia as well, as that is the crucial part, because later, the Home Affairs say that when you come back to Australia in 2014, you did not declare that you did not come to Australia before.”

‘I don’t know what to do’

If Chou is deported back to Taiwan, she faces a three-year waiting process for a new Australian visa, and there’s no guarantee her application would be successful after it is submitted.

For her eldest son, Chou says the news has been particularly hard.

Without certainty over what will happen next, she says she doesn’t always know how to answer his questions.

“He says to me ‘Why can’t I stay and my mother stays with me, I don’t need to change schools, I don’t need to lose my friends.’ He just told me that and I don’t know how to answer. I say, if I really don’t try, I don’t know what to do.”

Ying-Hsi’s husband Ben Cox told SBS News, without the necessary language skills, he and his children would struggle to adjust to life in Taiwan.

“I don’t even know where to start with speaking Mandarin, and then find a job over there.

“It would take us months maybe years before we can get anywhere, plus we have a house and a mortgage we’re paying off.”

An online petition launched by Murray Bridge locals asking for Ying-Hsi to remain in the community has surpassed 3,000 signatures.

A separate legal petition by Chou’s lawyer is being submitted to Immigration Minister Tony Burke calling on him to intervene.

The Home Affairs Department told SBS News, they don’t comment on individual cases, but all non-citizens must satisfy migration legislation and rules.

For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.