“So close, yet so far” is how Wei "Mira" Chen, a Chinese national describes her situation after failing to get a permanent Australian visa twice despite having been sponsored by a reputed employer.
The 29-year-old found a job as a junior chef at Jamie’s Italian restaurant in Sydney during her industry training and was later transferred to a restaurant in Perth that was short on experienced staff. In December 2015, the company sponsored her under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) for a permanent visa.
“I flew to Perth to start my new life in Perth just two weeks after my graduation,” she tells SBS Punjabi.
While her visa application was still under process, the Keystone Group that owned six Jamie's Italian restaurants in Australia, went into voluntary administration in mid-2016 and was no longer able to guarantee her employment for two years as per her employment offer.
