From tourist visa with a “No Further Stay” condition to an Australian citizen
I arrived in the Land Down Under in January 2006, over 16 years ago. I was excited to come to the country of my dreams and join Andy, my partner of almost six years, whom I missed so much at that time. I was full of hopes and plans, ecstatic that my dream was coming true; everything seemed perfect. It had to be perfect! What could go wrong? I got the visa!
The reality, however, turned out to be much more complicated than I thought. My relationship with Andy didn’t work out. I faced plenty of adversity: I was homeless, heartbroken, I went through trauma, I had no chance to find a job, and sometimes I almost lost any hope.
Yet here I am, grateful that I didn’t give up, that I persevered, and now I can call myself Australian by choice and live my childhood dream.
Visa issues
My first challenge was that I arrived on a tourist visa with the “No further stay” condition, which meant that I couldn’t apply for any temporary or permanent visas while in Australia. And if I left the country, my chances of coming back here were practically zero. I had Polish citizenship, and in those days, Poland was seen as a “risk country” therefore, getting a visa to Australia was extremely difficult (It took three months to get my tourist visa approved, and I had to meet a number of requirements, including having a written letter from my employer stating that I had to go back to Germany to continue my employment; that’s a story in itself).
I couldn’t use an immigration agent because whomever I asked, everybody, said my circumstances were “too difficult” and I would never get another visa. But, to be honest, even if I found someone willing to help me, I wouldn’t be able to afford it. I had no money at all. Despite my visa condition, from the beginning, I planned to stay in Australia and find employment (people said it was ridiculous, stupid, crazy — you name it, I heard it; I know, I’m crazy, that’s all right — lol).
So, I had to do everything on my own without help from anybody. Well, every law has its loophole. So, I studied the Australian immigration and deportation law to the point that I could become an immigration lawyer — lol; I knew the law better than all the agencies taken together.
I’m not religious, but my family back in Poland is Protestant, which at that time was considered a religious minority (during the communism, we weren’t allowed to go to the church; my father could go to prison if they caught us going to church).
Additionally, if Australia deported me, they would need to deport me to Poland because of my citizenship. However, before I came to Australia, I lived for years in Germany. So therefore, by deporting me to the country of my origin, they would put me in a worse economic situation than I was before I came to Australia. And this would be against Australian law.
I used these two points and some other facts to get the condition removed from my passport. It wasn’t easy, but somehow I managed to convince the Department of Immigration in Australia to remove the condition, and I was able to apply for another visa.
I was lucky (oh well, there was plenty of work too, but let’s leave it as ‘luck’) to get a position as a researcher at a university in Queensland, and I could apply for an occupational trainee visa. I wanted to do my PhD at that university, but I couldn’t afford the fees. I applied for a scholarship, but though there were plenty of scholarships for people from Asian countries, unfortunately, only one was for Europeans. I applied, but among all the applicants, I was second and just missed it.
I had to find another way to stay in Australia. I was grateful that I could stay at the university as a researcher, not only because I had a visa for another year but also because I had permission to work part-time as a tutor at that university. At least I could earn some pocket money.
Language barrier
English is my third language. When I arrived in Australia, my language skills were really poor. Life, indeed, was challenging without proper knowledge of the language, but Australians are very forgiving people, and they always did their best to understand me and to explain everything to me in a way I could understand.
Aussies will not correct you when you make mistakes. They find it impolite, if not disrespectful, to interrupt and correct others. As it might seem friendly, sometimes I found it challenging, if not irritating, because I have never learned the language properly. Yes, I speak English all right now, but not as fluent as Polish or German.
In comparison, when I emigrated to Germany, I couldn’t speak German at all. People there, however, were very particular about their language and didn’t tolerate when I made mistakes. They always corrected me. I wasn’t able to say a sentence without being interrupted and corrected. And I was grateful for that because I learned German very quickly and am as fluent as I’m in Polish. I am bilingual, Polish-German, and I understand both languages subconsciously, without the need to particularly concentrate not to miss a word.
Hunting for a job
Finding a job was seemingly another impossible task. At that time, all jobs were advertised through recruiting companies and had the following condition: “You must have the right to live and work in this location to apply for this job”. I didn’t have a work permit, and therefore I couldn’t go through the recruiters.
I had to find another way. I decided to try and contact companies directly. I was trying to either approach them in person, walking from company to company, asking if I could talk with their HR department, or I was searching for email addresses on the Internet.
Another challenge I faced was that I didn’t have a car and public transport in Brisbane, where I lived at that time, was far away from being good. (Andy had a car, but he didn’t allow me to use it, and he would never give me a lift or help me out). It wasn’t too bad when I looked for a job in the CBD, but many companies were in the industrial areas, and there was no public transport whatsoever. You just had to have a car. And so I had days when I walked between 5 and 10km in a 35C or 40C degrees heat wearing a business outfit and high hills.
I managed to secure a few interviews, but nobody was willing to sponsor my visa. They all said, “You are perfect for the position, but we can’t sponsor your visa. Come back when you have a work permit”.
It was disheartening, but I didn’t give up. I sent hundreds and hundreds of emails, and finally, over a year after I first arrived in Australia, one of the emails got redirected to the owner and CEO of a relatively small company. The lady invited me for an interview. I was very nervous, but I did my best, trying to hide all my emotions and remain confident. I couldn’t believe it when she said, “Okay, we will sponsor your visa”. I got so excited but equally disappointed when she added, “We can pay you $35k a year.”
“I would be more than happy with $35k, but the immigration office won’t approve my visa. The minimum salary requirement for this position is $41,800 per year,” — I replied in a tight voice, stressed, disheartened, yet still hopeful
“Okay, so we will pay you $41,800 per year. What do I need to do to start the process of your visa applications?” — she replied as if the salary wasn’t a big deal and we should concentrate on getting the visa organised.
The very next day, I started working with that company. I couldn’t get paid for that time, as it wouldn’t be legal, but I could do a kind of internship to familiarise myself with the projects and the working environment. It took another 3–4 months for my working visa to get approved. Seventeen months passed from when I arrived in this country to the day I could finally work full-time here.
My relationship with Andy deteriorated and suddenly I was homeless
As soon as Andy’s parents agreed to sponsor his PhD study (about seven months after I arrived), his attitude to me (and anyone around him) completely changed. He became very arrogant and abusive. He would humiliate and abuse me (verbally, emotionally and mentally; he threatened me with physical abuse, but he never hit me) on a daily basis. When I came home from job-search burned by the relentless sun, with blisters and blood on my feet, he would yell at me about how stupid I was because I could not find a job without hurting myself. (I will leave this story for another day.)
And one day, he simply threw me out of our home, and I found myself homeless on the street of a foreign country, without money, family or friends. I was still waiting for my work visa to be approved, so I couldn’t earn money (except for the few hours I had at a university). I was entirely on my own.
However, I consider myself lucky that it all happened in Australia because Aussies belong to the friendliest people I have ever met. Strangers gave me a roof over my head and supported me through the toughest times in my life. My new boss even lent me some money so that I could make it through the waiting time. The support I received here from people I didn’t even know was enormous. It is very easy to make friends in Australia.
Becoming an Australian citizen and living my dream
The following three years, after my visa got approved, were very hard as well. I was working extremely long hours on a minimum salary, but I also used the situation as an opportunity to improve my professional skills. I actually loved my job. I worked for the company for over three years full-time (plus additional six months part-time) and then started contracting with various clients. My income doubled with the first contract, and from there on, it went up. Because of my extensive experience, I had no problem finding a job.
It took me ten years to become an Australian citizen. Getting to where I am now wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. I am living my dream. I have the perfect lifestyle, the one I always wanted to have. I live on a farm that I absolutely love (it was always my dream to have a farm), I have a very good job in the city (I am an independent IT contractor/consultant), and I don’t struggle with money anymore (I am not rich, but I have enough to enjoy my life) and I am glad that I did, what I did. Making Australia my home was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.
The story with my first boss didn’t end when I left the company in 2010. Towards the end of 2017, she contacted me again, asking if I would like to catch up for a coffee. When we met, she told me about her ventures and what she had been up to since we last spoke. She closed her original company and established a new one, working with the latest technologies.
“Would you like to shake the world with the newest technologies again?” — she asked me, laughing
“Why not? If you can wait six months until I finish my current contract, I am in! But that’s my price now. For you, I am on discount anyway,” — I replied, also laughing while telling her my hourly rate
“All right, we can pay that!” — she replied, and a few months later, we started working together again, for almost four years. I just recently finished my contract with her company.
If I could give one piece of advice to young people would be — instead of trying to make “big bucks quickly”, putting the minimal effort to get maximal gain (not to mention cutting corners) concentrate on gaining experience. This will pay off later. Will also give you better money and for a much longer time.
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