Robert Jovicic

Who is Robert Jovicic?

Robert Jovicic was a long-time resident of Australia who was deported to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, where he became destitute in 2005.

Jovicic was born on December 4, 1966 in France of Serbian parents. At the age of two, his family migrated to Australia, where Jovicic became an Australian permanent resident and lived for the next 36 years before his Australian Permanent Residency was revoked in 2004.

In Australia, Jovicic became addicted to heroin and turned to crime. By 2004 his criminal record numbered some 158 criminal convictions, mainly for burglary and theft. In June 2004 his permanent residency was cancelled and he was detained, before being deported to Belgrade, Serbia, at the discretion of the then Australian Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone. The Australian Government only obtained a 7 day visa for him, which meant he was unable to work, and, since he had not opted for Yugoslavian, specifically Serbian, citizenship within 3 years of turning 21, the FRY authorities declared him stateless.

Jovicic turned up destitute and ill, sleeping rough in freezing temperatures outside the Australian embassy in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, in late November 2005. His case was widely publicised in the Australian media, and there were calls for the Australian Government to reverse its cancellation of Jovicic's permanent residency. Jovicic's legal counsel have stated that he does not speak or understand the Serbian language. Jovicic's father now lives in Serbia, but he has his own problems and his relationship his son is strained, so he was of little help.