Wendy Gutteridge moved to Australia from England in 2015 and never wanted to leave.
The 45-year-old worked as a prosecutor for the RSPCA in Victoria and became an Australian citizen last year.
But as the state and country, she called home closed their borders in response to COVID-19, for her, it began to feel like a prison.
"I really felt quite isolated, yeah it was pretty difficult. I wonder what the effect on people's mental health will be in the long term? And whether or not people will think twice or not about you know moving to another country, immigrating to Australia on a permanent basis if you're going to be a prisoner there, that's how it felt, it started to feel like I was trapped," Ms Gutteridge said.
The international travel ban meant it was impossible to visit her widowed mother in England, forcing the now Australian citizen to give up on her dream down under.
At the time, I came back at the end of January, the UK had over 70,000 new cases every day - over 1,000 deaths every day, which just shows how strong the pull is to see your family," she added.
She says the government’s handling of the travel ban cast a shadow on her experience in Australia, and, despite having citizenship, she can’t see herself rushing back anytime soon.
Click on the player above to listen to the audio in Punjabi.
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