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Sandra Reis | Subclass 186 Visa

Working with Migration Downunder and particularly Julie was one of the best decisions I made in my life.

Sandra Reis

Sandra’s Story – 186 Employer Nomination Scheme

Visa Journey – struggles

I am a qualified Cook working at a Childcare Centre married with two children.  I arrived from Portugal, with my family, in March 2013 on a student visa and was lucky enough to secure a 457 sponsorship a few years later.

It was late 2018 that I approached Migration Downunder about the option for permanent residency; however due to the changes in the English language requirement I was struggling to reach the required score.  After numerous failed attempts I finally achieved the required score in February 2020……..18 months after I first began the journey to apply for permanent residency.

It was of course the start of the pandemic for which lockdowns ensured in March 2020, this put a strain on my employer and I was left in limbo for several months not knowing whether my family and I were ever going to achieve our dream.  I was conscious of my age, my 457 visa expiring, my daughter becoming older and having to remain a dependent but being prevented from tertiary education due to the prohibitive costs.  It was a very stressful time for my family and I.

“Working with Migration Downunder and particularly Julie was one of the best decisions I made in my life. The process itself had its own challenges, particularly being a permanent residence application and the Covid19 added unexpected delays but Julie and her team were always there to answer our questions and help us every step of the way.

We are truly grateful for their support and highly recommend their services and expertise.”

I eventually lodged my permanent residency application through the Employer Sponsored (186) pathway in May 2020 and then due to the pandemic and the government not prioritising certain occupations it was a long 16 months before I received the call I was waiting for.  Our permanent residency was finally granted!!  My daughter was with me at the time of the call and she let out a huge big yelp of excitement and I just burst into tears.  The wait was finally over!

How did Using the Services of Migration Agent help?

Migration Agents do far more than filling in forms, they guide you, advise you and re-assure you.  It was comforting having someone to call to check in with even if there was no update, to gain reassurance that the delay was nothing to do with our application but rather a result of the pandemic.

It was essential to make certain we had all the required documentation and met the visa criteria; not only for us but equally as important for our employer who hadn’t previously been through the process of permanent residency before.  Migration Downunder were with us every step of the way.

What are your future dreams and aspirations?

The realisation of becoming Australian permanent residents took a little while to ‘sink in’ as it had been an emotional three years from when we first began the process.

Importantly my daughter is now free to study what she likes and my son who is currently completing Year 12 has the world at this feet and as far as my husband and I are concerned we also feel more comfortable to pursuit other opportunities. For some time I have been thinking in going back to school and maybe do a business course and perhaps open a small business of my own in the future.

We really love Australia and one of our dreams is to travel and get to know the country a little better which now we will have the opportunity to do.

Published Mon 7 March 2022.

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