Key Points
- Skilled chefs claim to be facing visa uncertainty despite high scores.
- Regional cafe risks loss of trading hours due to staff shortages.
- Experts urge early action for permanent residency applications.
Manjit Kaur has been living in Australia for over eight years. She gave birth to her only child here. However, with her temporary graduate visa (485) expiring in September, she may have to leave the country.
She is one of the three chefs at Little Swallow Cafe in regional Victoria facing uncertainty, with their visas set to expire this year.
"Despite applying for multiple skilled visas and having high scores, none have received an invitation," she told SBS Punjabi.
"We followed the government's pathway to permanent residency, did everything asked of us, yet the goalposts were moved at the last stage. Now, even chefs with scores of 95 are stuck in limbo."
"I see many people in other trades getting invitations for low scores. But for us chefs, people with 95 scores are also waiting in the queue," she says.
Two of the three chefs at Little Swallow Cafe.
"If they leave, we’ll have to cut trading hours. These chefs allowed us to open seven days a week and on public holidays," he said.
Losing them will also impact 22 Australian-born employees who rely on these shiftsDaniel Richards, cafe owner
He further said the government had encouraged migrants to follow a path to permanent residency, but despite meeting all requirements, many were now left without options.
“They did everything that was asked of them, yet at the final stage, the rules changed, leaving them in limbo,” he said.
Richards said that he had advertised to hire chefs, however, all applications he received were from migrants.
“I haven’t received a single application from an Australian citizen. Most candidates either need sponsorship or are on 485 visas, which would put me in the same situation again in a few months,” he said.
If there are no replacements, why isn’t the government allowing those already working, paying taxes, and contributing to society to stay?Daniel Richards. cafe owner
Migration expert from Visacraft Migrations Navneet Singh told SBS Punjabi that it is simply a 'demand-supply' issue.
"The points on which a candidate is selected changes depending on the demand and supply."
"When there is high supply for a certain trade, the competition gets tougher and point tends to go higher," he said.
Migration expert Navneet Singh. Credit: Image Supplied by Mr Singh
Disclaimer: This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisers.
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Regional cafe in Victoria at risk as 'skilled' Indian-origin chefs face visa uncertainty
SBS Punjabi
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