Couple’s desperate plea to stay in Australia with unborn baby

A couple who have lived in Australia for more than a decade are petitioning to stay in the country after being left in “limbo”.

An expectant couple who have called Australia home for more than a decade say they have been left “living in limbo for years” with no answer about their future in the country.

Michaela Loudinova and her husband Miroslav Sulak, originally from the Czech Republic, have turned to the Australian public to support their fight to stay, petitioning Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to grant them permanent residency as they wait the arrival of their “miracle baby” after struggling with infertility.

The petition has gained more than 8000 signatures.

Ms Loudinova first moved to Sydney in 2013 to study. She got her Diploma of Management and became a restaurant manager in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

In 2018, her application for a sponsored skilled visa was “shockingly” rejected.

“Even though my nomination was unreasonably refused, I tirelessly managed the restaurant for seven years,” she explained on her petition.

“Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the beloved restaurant had to unexpectedly shut down one day, leaving me without a job and nomination.”

Michaela Loudinova and Miroslav Sulak. Picture: Michaela Loudinova / change.org

Ms Loudinova told 9 News four employees at the restaurant applied for the visa at the same time and hers was one of two rejected in what she believes was a “mistake”.

She said the reason given was that her employer didn’t show enough evidence they were capable of paying her salary for the next two years, however all four applications were based on the same paperwork.

In April last year, her appeal was heard before the Administrative Appeal Tribunal.

The couple had little hope after four years and losing the restaurant as a sponsor.

“We sold all our belongings and we had four suitcases at that time and we were basically about to buy our flight tickets,” Mr Sulak told 9 News.

“We were heartbroken and I don’t really like to think back to that time because we were basically at the lowest point in our lives.”

In a pleasant surprise, they said the AAT referred their case for possible ministerial intervention, but Ms Loudinova explains in her petition she has not heard anything since.

The couple are fighting to stay in Australia, the place they have called home for the last 10 years. Picture: Michaela Loudinova / change.org

“While we have had the privilege to call Australia home these last ten years, the process of our application has come at a great cost to our psychological and financial wellbeing,” she wrote.

“Coinciding with the pressures of attaining permanent residency, my husband and I have also been fighting infertility, and had the heartbreaking experience of losing two unborn children.

“Having only recently successfully conceived, we are desperately seeking the support of our community and the Hon Andrew Giles MP to call Australia home and to bring our healthy baby boy into it.”

Ms Loudinova explained every three months, the couple had to renew their bridging visa.

“Every time our three-month visa is granted, we apply for Medicare for the next few weeks. We don’t want the same life for our child,” she said.

Ms Loudinova and Mr Sulak want people to sign the petition to show their support for Mr Giles to reconsider their application on compassionate grounds.

“Without this intervention, we will be forced to leave Australia – ten years of hard work and skills in critical industry sectors gone in an instant,” Ms Loudinova said.

Ms Loudinova currently works as a concierge and Mr Sulak works for an electrical company, according to 9 News.

A spokesperson for Mr Giles told the outlet the minister could not comment on individual cases due to privacy. news.com.au has also contacted his office.

Ms Loudinova told news.com.au: “We understand that the Minister Andrew Giles is a very busy man and acknowledge the insignificance of our situation in the light of national wide immigration issues, however, we do hope for a miracle and help in our precarious situation.”