Englishwoman who has lived and worked in Australia for 11 years faces deportation next week

A British woman who has lived in Australia for 11 years is facing deportation after being denied a visa because her employer sold the business she works for.

Belinda Checkley, 36, first came Down Under as a backpacker in 2012 on a working holiday visa and “instantly” fell in love with Byron Bay.

After a three-month stint working on a farm, Ms Checkley studied hotel management before landing a job in the New South Wales resort town and working her way up to café manager.

But in 2018, the cafe changed ownership, resulting in the cancellation of his visa.

Despite more than 20,000 people signing a petition for the Briton to remain in Australia, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has not intervened, meaning she will be deported in less than a week.

Ms Checkley and her partner Julian, who is Australian, now face a move abroad as their temporary bridging visa is set to expire on Tuesday.

She says she has built a “beautiful life” in Byron Bay and has “no life” in the UK.

‘I have worked hard to build a secure future and my goal has been to obtain permanent residence.

“It has been a long journey, filled with countless personal, emotional and financial sacrifices, to work within the Australian immigration system,” she said. The change.org petition explains.

After six years living happily in Australia, she was told in 2018 that her visa had been refused. She later learned that her immigration attorney had filed the application on her behalf and had not done the paperwork correctly.

He found a new lawyer and filed his appeal with the Administrative Court of Appeals (AAT).

After a three-month stint working on a farm, Ms Checkley studied hotel management before landing a job in the New South Wales resort town and working her way up to cafeteria manager.

At the same time, Ms. Checkley was beset by a personal tragedy when her partner took his own life.

“This was an unimaginably painful experience and it is something that will be with me forever,” he explained.

“The magnitude of the love and support I received from my incredible friends and members of the local community was a clear testament to the fact that this beautiful city is truly my home.”

As she worked through her grief, Checkley faced another setback when her employers sold the cafe she worked at.

This led to the immediate cancellation of his visa.

“I appealed this unique set of circumstances to the Immigration Department,” he explained.

‘My case was raised to the level of Ministerial Intervention, to be reviewed personally by the Minister of Immigration himself.

“So for another two full years, during the pandemic, I lived, worked hard, and eagerly awaited a result.

‘Then last Christmas I received one: my appeal was also rejected by the Immigration Department without further review.

“I was informed that there was no option to apply for an alternative visa while still living in Australia.

‘And I had three months to prepare for my deportation. Once outside Australian borders, I would be legally barred from re-entering the country for the next three years.’

Ms Checkley is now appealing for public support to stay, with many Byron Bay locals speaking out in support of her place in the community.

Ms Checkley is now appealing for public support to stay, with many Byron Bay locals speaking out in support of her place in the community.

‘I have given 11 years of my life to this country. Facing rebuilding my life after years of hard work and dedication is surreal and unfathomable,” she explained.

‘I am a hard-working, law-abiding and productive member of Australian society. I work in an industry desperate for talented and reliable people.

“I have proven myself time and time again and have sacrificed so much just to call this place home. My only crime is that I wasn’t born here.

“I came, like many of us still in Byron Bay, as a backpacker in my 20s. I loved it and have never left. I am now 36 years old, settled and trying to start my own family with my partner who grew up here.

‘I have no life in the UK. It’s a cold and distant memory.