A British family who moved to Australia have been told they need to return to the UK because the parents are “too old” for permanent residency.
Glenn, a plasterer, and Sheena Tunnicliff, the manager of a travel agency, and their two daughters moved to Perth from East Sussex in 2015.
The family have spent AUD$80,000 on visas and legal advice to stay in Australia, but have not obtained permanent residency because they say the immigration rules kept changing.
They moved to Perth on a family visa because Sheena’s job as a travel agent manager was in demand at the time.
Glenn’s job as a plasterer meant the family were able to stay longer under his work visa because his role is on the Government’s list of needed skills.
However, the company which sponsored his visa is set to end and there is no other way for the family to get a permanent visa.
Glenn, 57, and Sheena, 50, are now too old to apply for permanent residency because the age limit is 45, leaving them with no choice but to return to England by August 4.
“We don’t want to go back to the UK – we’ve made a life here,” Sheena told 9 News.
“Now we are over that magic figure of 45 there is no route to PR for us. Australia classes us as too old. We are the ones with the experience and training.”
The family is calling for a rule change to allow more people who have moved to Australia to permanently live there – even if they are over the age of 45.
Just one of the Tunnicliff daughters is allowed to stay in Perth working as a nurse on her own visa but the rest of the family will have to return to the UK.
Glenn said: “We never came here to go home.”
In April this year, Australia’s government proposed a revamp to its immigration system to quicken up getting highly skilled workers into the country and balancing the path to permanent residency.
The federal Labor government said the current system used to select skilled migrants – the points test – will be modified to identify people with the correct skill sets the Australian economy needs going forward.
“Our migration system … is broken. It is failing our businesses, it is failing migrants themselves. And most importantly, it is failing Australians. That cannot continue,” Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said at the time.
