Eight years in Australia for a British couple who will be expelled for being too old.
After failing to obtain permanent residency as a result of visa modifications, Glenn Tunnicliff, 57, and his wife Sheena, 50, are required to depart within seven weeks.
With their two children Tamzin and Molly, who are now 21 and 18, as well as their Jack Russell Roxy, they relocated from East Sussex to Perth.
Despite each family member securing jobs, Glenn and Sheena been told to leave by August 4 because the age limit to gaining permanent residency (PR) – the pathway to citizenship – is 45 years.
‘We don’t want to go back to the UK, we’ve made a life here,’ Sheena told 9News.
‘Now we are over that magic figure of 45 there is no route to PR for us. Australia classes us as too old [but] we are the ones with the experience and training.’
The family are on Glenn’s work visa because his plastering skills are in high demand across Australia.
The company that sponsors him is about to close which means the family can’t get a permanent visa.
Sheena said the couple have spent $80,000 (£63,200) on visas over the years while not always getting the best advice from agents.
The only member of the family who can stay is Tamzin because she is a nurse, but Molly is learning Australian sign language and won’t qualify for a student visa because her course is not eligible.
The family fear Roxy the dog will be left behind to fend for herself due to her age.
Lawyer Joanne Kinslor explained the reasoning behind PR in Australia and said: ‘The age limit in place for the vast majority of skilled migrants arises from a policy concern that the working lives and economic contributions of older skilled migrants are likely to be smaller than that of younger migrants.’
But this was criticised by migration agent Mateja Rautner who said: ‘The Australian government is actively promoting Australia as the destination for skilled migrants and we are amid global competition for talent and yet we are limiting the options for skilled words over 45.’
Home affairs minister Clare O’Neil said Australia’s migration system is ‘broken’ and in need of a fundamental overhaul and a ‘radical simplification’.