Highlights
- Skilled visa holders are desperate to return to Australia
- Regular expenses like rent and utility bills in Australia continue while they are in India
- Department of Home Affairs provides for exemptions to be made for temporary residents
Locked up in India and unable to fly back to Australia, skilled visa holders are anxiously waiting for the first opportunity to reach Australia.
Skilled visa holders like nurses, aged care workers, chefs and motor mechanics are amongst those desperate to return.
Although private chartered flights have recently brought back over a thousand Australian citizens and permanent residents, temporary residents have not yet been given the same opportunity.
On April 23, Rod Hilton, Australia’s Deputy High Commissioner to India, had taken to his Twitter handle to announce that the government will organise special flights to fly Australian citizens and permanent residents to Australia next week.
These will be non-scheduled commercial flights, as opposed to the chartered flights that were recently operated between India and Australia by Indonesian airline Lion Air.
However, some temporary visa holders have applied for an exemption to be included amongst the passengers on these flights.
The Department of Home Affairs has made a provision to give where it is essential, in the national interest or on humanitarian or compassionate grounds.
A large number of international students are also stuck overseas due to travel restrictions. They are eagerly waiting to return to Australia and resume their studies and work.
‘Zero income, ongoing expenses, depleting savings in Australia’
Screenshot of an interaction between the Australian High Commission in India and temporary residents and international students stranded in India. Source: Supplied
Ramandeep Kaur, a registered nurse from Geelong, Melbourne’s satellite town, holds an employer-sponsored Skilled visa (Subclass 482).
She arrived in India on March 12 to attend her brother’s wedding.
The coronavirus scare, she says, wasn’t widespread in India when she reached. But things got tight in the weeks that followed, causing her flight scheduled for March 25 to get cancelled.
“I had read in the news that healthcare workers might be brought back to assist with Australia’s fight against the coronavirus. Therefore, I approached the Australian High Commission in India and applied for an exemption to board the chartered flights that ferried Australian citizens and PRs recently from India,” says Ms Kaur over the telephone from India’s northern state of Punjab.
“I told them that I’m a frontline health worker. They asked for a letter from my employer. I contacted my employer in Geelong but haven’t got any letter from them yet,” she adds.
Just like many other Australian residents stuck in India, Ms Kaur also is concerned about the regular outgoing payments in Australia like house rent and utility bills, that continue to deplete her savings.
She had also started a nursing course before she left for India. The fee, which is nearly $3000, is due next month, and she fears the course may lapse.
“I have zero income in India and my savings in Australia are depleting. All this is taking a toll on my mental health,” she rues.
‘Skilled workers can contribute to reviving Australia's economy’
Manjinder Singh and his wife at their wedding. Source: Supplied
Manjinder Singh was brimming with happiness before he left for India, where his family was eagerly awaiting his arrival for his wedding.
Little did he know, he would end up getting stranded there after the wedding.
A cook on a Skilled visa (subclass 457) in a Melbourne restaurant, Mr Singh got married on February 12. He was already dreaming of having his newly-wed wife join him in Australia soon after his return.
But now, although the couple is together at their family home in Village Sultanpur Cheema, district Gurdaspur in Punjab,
“My return flight was scheduled on March 27. But as soon as I heard Prime Minister Scott Morrison announce border closures, I got it rescheduled to March 20. When I was on my way to the New Delhi airport on March 19, I got a message the borders had closed,” says Mr Singh in a telephonic conversation.
He says that he has been working as a senior cook in a restaurant in Clayton for the last five years.
“I have a lot of responsibility at the restaurant and my employer depends upon me a lot. He is interested in having me back. I have been in touch with him throughout this period. I’m planning to apply for an exemption to fly back,” Mr Singh adds.
The coronavirus travel restrictions in India and Australia have taken a significant toll on Mr Singh’s pocket too.
“I have had to reschedule my return flight twice. This is in addition to the house rent, health insurance premium and utility bills that continue in Melbourne against zero income while I am in Punjab,” says a worried Mr Singh.
How hopeful is he of getting an exemption from the Australian government?
“I have not yet heard about any exemption given to a temporary visa holder. I request the Australian government to bring skilled visa holders back too. We understand the economy has faced a setback but I’m confident if skilled visa holders return to Australia, they'll also help to bring the economy back on the rails,” he says.
‘Waited for skilled visa to visit India’
Sandeep Brar has been working as a motor mechanic in Victoria for the past few years. Recently, he received his Regional Skilled visa (Subclass 489) and moved from Melbourne to Bendigo, where he works with Mazda.
His longing for his family in Punjab’s Faridkot district took him to India after six long years.
“I hadn’t visited India in six years because I wanted to be free of visa-related anxieties before exiting Australia. So, after I got my skilled visa recently, I bought two return tickets for my partner and myself to India,” Mr Brar narrates over the phone.
He arrived in India on March 1, and his return was scheduled for March 26.
His partner is a nurse in Victoria, on the same visa as him. She is also in Punjab at the moment, waiting for the first opportunity to return to Australia.
“Skilled workers are hard to come by in Australia’s regional areas. So, we applied for an exemption to return to Australia, and even got letters from our employers to support our application. It was rejected by the Australian government because we didn’t fit into their guidelines for being brought to Australia,” Mr Brar says, sounding left out.
‘Citizens and PRs first’
The rejection of Mr Brar's exemption application by the Australian High Commission in India. Source: Supplied
Assessing the anxiety prevalent amongst temporary Australian residents stuck in India, migration agent Navjot Singh Kailay advises everyone “to stay put where they are” and wait for the situation to ease out.
“We must bear in mind that the Australian government is picking up the tab for the hotel quarantine of its citizens and permanent residents brought back from overseas. Once they are done with this group, they are expected to turn their attention towards temporary residents and international students who are desperate to come to Australia,” he explains.
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