A Perth aged care worker who is set to be deported next week after nine years of living in Australia says she feels like the country is “ungrateful” and recklessly kicking out skilled migrants.
Liz Armijo came to Perth from her native Chile in 2016 to take up a scholarship at the University of Western Australia, where she studied a masters in health science.
After graduating from her degree, Armijo began working for Regis Aged Care, where she has been employed for the past five years, including during the pandemic.
Armijo told 9news.com.au she thought her future in Australia was assured when she was invited to apply for one of around 5000 skilled migrant permanent visas on offer this financial year from the Western Australian government.
The aged care worker was told she met all the requirements of the points-based system to be granted the visa.
“When I received the invitation, it was one of the best days. Everyone says once you are invited, that is it, you’re in,” Armijo said.
That elation turned to heartbreak, however, on February 5, when Armijo opened a letter telling her the visa had been refused and she had just 35 days to leave the country.
Armijo said it was a one-word mistake which sealed her fate.
In her initial application, Armijo said she accidentally described her university masters degree as “research” instead of “coursework”. She was awarded a total score of 95 points, with the “research” component contributing 10 points.
However, when the visa application was reviewed in the final stage of the process, the assessor picked up the mistake and took away 10 points, leaving her with a score of 85 points.
The number of points needed to be offered a visa under the State Nominated Migration Program varies by occupation.
Armijo applied for the visa under the occupation of healthcare recreational officer, which is listed by the WA government as needing a minimum of 65 points.
Despite easily meeting the minimum points required for her occupation, Armijo was told in her visa rejection letter, seen by 9news.com.au, that she did not meet the requirements of the visa because of a clause in the legislation which states an applicant’s assessed score cannot be less than their invitation score.
Armijo said she felt like she was living in a nightmare after receiving the letter rejecting her visa application.
“I was waking up and I’m thinking, this is not happening. It can’t be. I’ve done everything they asked me to do, everything,” she said.
The aged care worker said she was stunned to have been rejected and issued with a deportation notice over such an “arbitrary” reason.
“It’s shocking that, despite Australia’s urgent need for aged care workers, the system is failing to recognise and retain professionals like me. After dedicating nearly a decade to this country, I am now being forced out as if I did something wrong,” she said.
“This is home but they’re kicking me out.
“I feel like they used me during the pandemic when we were locked in Western Australia for two years. The only thing I did during that time was work full time in aged care. I couldn’t even take a holiday.
“Australia is an ungrateful country. It’s not fair and it’s not ok.”
Armijo estimated she had spent around $80,000 towards gaining permanent residency in Australia, including $50,000 for her master’s degree, visas at $5000 each and dozens of English proficiency tests costing $300 each.
In a final parting blow, Armijo said the federal government had cut off her access to Medicare, a week before she was due to leave the country.
While she had previously held an employer-sponsored visa, which has a pathway to permanent residency, Armijo said she let this lapse after receiving her invitation to apply through the state-nominated program.
Applying for another employer-sponsored visa could offer her a last chance to stay in Australia, but Armijo said she could not stomach shelling out another $5000 application fee and rejoining the back of a queue which could take years.
“I’m not going to keep paying them,” she said.
“It’s pride, I can’t keep doing this, because I’ve done everything in the past nine years. I’m tired, I can’t do this anymore.”
Speaking last year, WA Premier Roger Cook said the state had signed an agreement with the federal government to provide 10,000 skilled migration places for the 2024-25 period, around half of which would go to applicants in the State Nominated Migration Program, doubling its size from a year earlier.
There were 2350 visa places allocated under the program in 2023-24.
In mid-2023, the Albanese government announced that permanent residency would be fast-tracked for some aged care workers from overseas under a new ‘Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement’ because of a critical skills shortage in the industry.
The new agreement, now in place, allows aged care providers to sponsor overseas workers in direct care occupations such as nursing support worker, personal care assistant and aged or disability carer. These workers can apply for permanent residency within two years.
