The decision to shut the borders to slow the spread of COVID-19 in late March meant that tens of thousands of temporary visa holders couldn’t enter Australia unless they were exempted from entry ban, with only Australian citizens, permanent residents and their close family members allowed back in the country.
Among those caught up in the COVID-19 border closure was Italian national Antonello Nistoro who was looking forward to joining his fiancée, Elissa, to start a new life in Australia.
Mr Nistoro’s Prospective Marriage Visa gave him time until November this year to enter Australia. But with the borders closed, this window seemed to be closing fast, especially because the Australian Border Force doesn’t give travel exemption to the holders of this visa.
Highlights:
- Temporary visa holders can't enter Australia unless exempted from entry ban
- According to the Department of Home Affairs, Prospective Marriage visa holders won't be granted an exemption from entry ban
- Italian national Antonello Nistoro succeeded in his fifth attempt to get permission to enter Australia, despite being on a Prospective Marriage visa
Migration agent Emanuela Canini says prospective marriage visa holders aren’t considered to be in the same position as a partner visa holder.
“You are allowed to get an exemption if you have a Partner Visa. If you have a Prospective Marriage Visa though, you are not considered yet a partner as your goal is to get married within nine months,” Ms Canini told SBS Italian.
“There’s nothing he could do except hoping that the borders would have reopened before the end of his visa.”
Notwithstanding the rules, Mr Nistoro decided to apply for an exemption. He even decided to gamble on the success of his application and bought a one-way ticket to Sydney for early June.
As expected, his application was knocked back.
Listen to Antonello's story in Italian
The challenging experience of obtaining an exemption to travel to Australia
He applied again, four times, submitting increasingly more documentation and details with his application. His persistence and possibly a touch of inconsistency in the Government regulations saw him through.
“With my last form, I attached everything I had: statutory declarations, financial transactions, bills, photos… I also explained my situation from an emotional standpoint, with my fiancée alone in Australia after my arrival was delayed for four months,” Mr Nistoro said.
His application was approved just three days before his flight, allowing him to leave Italy and land in Australia.
After spending 14 days in quarantine in Sydney, he reunited with his fiancée and tied the knot - all in less than a month.
He is over the moon, and rightly so, according to migration agent Emanuela Canini.
Married at last, three weeks after landing to Australia for the first time. Source: courtesy of Antonello Nistorio
“On the Government’s official website it is still stated that entry is not allowed for Prospective Marriage Visa holders. I wouldn’t have bet a dollar on him but this is not the first time that the Department of Home Affairs was not consistent and it won’t be the last,” she says.
“As a migration agent, I hope that this act of generosity from the Government was not an act of randomness.”
Prospective Marriage visa holders can't come to Australia at the moment, according to the Dpeartment of Home Affairs website. Source: Department of Home Affairs
Not the same happy ending for everyone
While Mr Nistoro’s life has been positively turned upside-down in one month, many others are still struggling to get into Australia.
Martina Liberati is currently living in Italy and used to fly in and out of Australia to stay with her fiancé Antonio who came to Australia for his work three years ago.
Her story has some similarities with Mr Nistoro’s, but not quite the same result.
The young couple had planned to apply for permanent residency in Australia based on Antonio’s job. However, a personal loss in Italy forced Martina to postpone her arrival by a year.
I had my ticket, my luggage ready and my heart set to Australia.
That decision turned out to be ill-fated, as her new arrival date ended up being in April- two weeks into the travel ban.
And like Mr Nistoro, she sought an exemption to travel to Australia. Her first application, on compassionate grounds, was refused in May.
She didn’t even receive a response from the Department for her subsequent applications, leaving her in a state of utter frustration and despair.
“I haven’t seen my fiancé since last Christmas. The finishing line is disappearing and vanishing. We both are desperate”, Martina told SBS Italian.
Listen to Martina's story in Italian
Separati per sei mesi dal travel ban, l'odissea australiana di Antonio e Martina
Her predicament is not rare though. She has joined a social media group that organised an online petition on the travel ban issue, which has been signed by 18 thousand people.
Their aim is to pressure the Morrison government to let people with work visas and their partners come to Australia.
So far, her efforts haven't yielded any results. Her attitude, on the other hand, is combative.
“I never lacked the desire to reach my goals,” says Martina.
“In fact, it has now become a challenge.”
