Airlie Beach local faces deportation after 10 years in Australia

An Airlie Beach long time resident is facing deportation in less than two months as her visa options have dwindled and her last chance at staying in what she calls her home relies on a government invitation.

Jana Padfield says she has two months left on her visa and that her only option left is to get a special invitation from government. Picture: Contributed

Raising her children, building her first house, buying her dream car or celebrating her best friend’s wedding on Long Island are all things Jana wants to do in Australia.

But she is facing the hard reality of being a visa holder in this country.

While the Whitsundays were celebrating new citizens on Australia Day last week, Jana was facing the cold fact that her visa ends in two months and she cannot get a new one.

The 28 year-old English native from Glastonbury first came to Airlie Beach 10 years ago in 2013 on her first working holiday visa.

Since then, she had never wanted to leave.

Jana Padfield says she has two months left on her visa and that her only option left relies on a government invitation. Picture: Contributed

“I moved to Australia to better my life at the age of 18 because I knew this is what I wanted,” Jana said.

She has gone through two working holidays visas, two student visas and two Covid visas, working for many famous names in the Airlie Beach hospitality industry such as Boaties, KC’s Bar and Grill, Fat Frog Cafe, Bohemian Raw and more.

For Jana, this tropical tight-knit community always felt like ‘home’ and she has never wanted to move back to England.

“It’s everything I’ve worked for.

“I just signed another lease for my house, a whole house full of furniture, I have a dog.

“My whole life is here, this is my home,”

Jana Padfield says she has two months left on her visa and that her only option left relies on a government invitation. Picture: Contributed

As the 28-year-old hospitality manager tried to look at what was next, things haven’t worked out the way she wanted them to, with businesses she has worked for not able to offer her a sponsorship, or sponsorship promises falling through.

Jana said that a lot of the businesses would not have been profitable enough to be able to offer sponsorship, and that even if she did get one, the sponsorship could fall through in the instance that the business goes bankrupt, which has happened during Cyclone Debbie.

“I have seen that happen to a friend of mine,” Jana shared.

As to getting a graduate visa, Jana learned she wasn’t eligible for one as her two courses at TAFE and Imagine Education did not qualify her for one.

Jana Padfield says she has two months left on her visa and that her only option left relies on a government invitation. Picture: Contributed

Immigration agents directed her to two visas that are offered to a very limited number of people in Queensland, the Queensland Government Skilled Work Regional Visa, and the Skilled Residency Visa.

Those visas are granted respectively to 600 and 900 applicants per year.

The intake is already low, however another difficulty added is that people can only apply for those visas if they receive an offer from the government after submitting an expression of interest.

“This is what is so frustrating because you’re going into a pool of so many people.’’

“I have lived here for so many years, in a regional area, I’ve contributed to this economy, and to my community, I have studied as an international student twice, which everybody knows isn’t cheap.

“I haven’t had any financial help from anybody to do any of this.

Jana ensures that she checks all the boxes to be granted a visa of this type and has enough points to claim it.

Jana Padfield says she has two months left on her visa and that her only option left relies on a government invitation. Picture: Contributed

“I have contributed to this economy when they needed people like us, because they didn’t have an influx of travellers coming in,” she said referring to a Queensland government directive throughout Covid-19 pandemic, when international students could work full time while studying full time to make up for a lack of workforce in industries like hospitality.

“Australians, they weren’t working and they were getting government subsidies through Centrelink, the travellers and the students that were still in this country kept this country afloat.

“And I get nothing, and suddenly they can just take all that away from me?”

Jana has started a petition in the hope that by reaching out to local members and rallying people behind her, she will be able to make enough noise for change.

“They need to review their policies because they don’t let people like us stay and we just fall through the cracks.”

She has sent a request to Whitsunday MP Amanda Camm, and has received an answer from the office after this publication contacted them.

“It didn’t last long, but they did say they would do what they can to help and would call me back in a few days as they will try to contact Queensland Immigration to ask for any updates regarding visa invites,” Jana said.

You can sign Jana’s petition here.