Ed lost his job. So he faced sixty days to leave Australia (again)
The 32-year-old software engineer highlights the tough reality for many in the country navigating Australia's visa system.
Edmund Reed was pulled aside by his boss late last month and, out of the blue, was told he was being made redundant.
For most people, that would be pretty shattering news. But for Ed, it was a traumatic sense of Déjà vu as he saw his life crumbling around him – for the second time in five years. The 32-year-old software engineer has been working in Sydney but is originally from the UK. His visa was tied to his employment, which meant he was now facing the threat of having to leave the country.
"It kind of just came out of the blue, there was no warning," he told to Yahoo News Australia. "It was all systems go at that point, I had 60 days according to my visa agent before I either had to find a new job or arrange travel out of here.
"The clock was ticking."
Ed has been working in Sydney for the past year but knowing his ability to stay in the country was tied to his employment was never far from his mind. "I've always had to be a bit on edge, which isn't ideal."
Admittedly stressed, he started hunting for a new job but he also had to plan for the devastating event he couldn't find one. So he simultaneously began contingency planning for what to potentially do with all his stuff if he had to leave.
It's not the first time he's faced being forced from Australia. After moving to Sydney "on a whim" in 2017, he lived in the country for nearly two years when the rug was pulled out from him by his employer and a seeming bureaucratic miscommunication with the Department of Home Affairs.
At that time he was forced to leave his girlfriend and his life behind and go back to the UK. He thought it would only be temporary "for a few weeks" while his visa was sorted but it turned into years.
"It was soul crushing," he recalled.
"I had to pay a couple thousand dollars to remove all my things (from his abandoned apartment) which probably left a sour taste in the real estate agent's mouth as well."
His main priority was finding a job that enabled him to return to the place he now considered home. But it took two years, and then another year working remotely from the UK for that company before he was eventually back in Australia in 2022.
Now he faced the same situation.
"It's been a rough month, I'm not going to lie. Lots of interviews, lots of panics ... but looks like I'm going to be safe after all."
Australia makes visa changes as migration debate ramps up
Ed has since been offered a new job and hopes it will ultimately provide a pathway to sponsored permanent residency. But for now his somewhat precarious status remains.
He is currently unsure if he'll be able to leave the country to attend a mate's wedding in Portugal where he is due to be a groomsman. If he misses it, it will simply be the latest sacrifice he's made to try and stay in Australia.
It's something many ex-pats can relate to, with many reporting frustrations with the difficulties, complexities and demands of Australia's myriad visa classes. Stories of people pursuing multiple degrees and switching visas to elongate their stay in the hope of securing permanent residency are not uncommon.
In a 2022 report Migrants in the Australian workforce, the Grattan Institute found that a lower share of temporary skilled workers were transitioning to permanent visas compared to recent years due to growing obstacles.
As a way to tackle the country's labour shortages, in October last year, the Albanese government introduced new skilled visa processing priorities for offshore applicants with a promise of easier permanent residency pathways.
The government has also tinkered with requirements for other visas. From July this year, the temporary skilled migration income threshold will lift from $53,900 to $70,000, and UK citizens will be able to apply for a working holiday visa up until the age of 35, up from 30. That means 16 million more Britons will be eligible to apply for a working holiday visa here.
Meanwhile New Zealanders who have been living in the country for four years or more will be able to apply to become Australian citizens.
It's added to a growing political debate about overall migration with the Coalition attacking the government about ramping up the number of people coming into the country amid an ongoing housing crisis.
'Don't take it for granted', Australians told
But for many like Ed, being an Australian taxpayer has been something they've had to fight tooth and nail for.
Anonymously taking to social media shortly after losing his job last month, the 32-year-old vented about the challenges faced by people like him, often during the most formative years of their life.
"I'm not complaining about the process or requesting any special treatment. Just wanted to express that life is good here, and there are many people (like me) who are sacrificing the best years of their lives just for a chance of being able to settle down here," he wrote.
"Don't take it for granted."
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