Cesar Penuela arrived in Australia in 2009, and for the past five years has called Launceston, in northern Tasmania home.
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Regrettably, due to a lack of documentation from his employer, the Colombian-born Invermay father-of-two is being forced to leave the country.
On October 13, 2022, a letter from the Administrative Appeals Tribunal revealed that it had refused to grant his family visas.
When he received the news that his application had been rejected, he said he was devastated.
"Immigration are giving us a time to leave the country. They don't care where we go, as long as we leave," Mr Penuela said.
"My country is far from here, we have just finished the pandemic, tickets for a family of four is expensive.
"Things in my country are not the best qualities of life. Unemployment is high and security is not the best. I grew up in this country, and I don't want them to deal with that."
Mr Penuela said his children have lived their whole lives in Australia and were engrossed in the culture and values of Australia.
"I don't want to see them living in a country that is going to be a difficult society," he said.
"When you have a wife when you have kids, and you have promised your wife we're staying in another country, where the future is better, and you work hard for that, and it doesn't happen, it is very sad."
Claudia Castillo, Mr Penuela's wife, said the family have been looking to gain permanent residency for 13 years and said she was dejected when they were told they needed to leave the country.
"It has been very hard, we have spent a lot of money, there has been a lot of stress. We have been waiting for this news for almost three years," Ms Castillo said.
She said the family just wanted stability.
"We have to move forwards and backwards and try to give them a future, and you don't know what the future brings."
Since arriving in Launceston, she has experienced what she describes as a better quality of life. She has learned how to drive, worked in the aged-care sector and been able to raise her kids.
"As a mum, it's very easy to raise your children here because everything is really close and you have the time to go to the supermarket, go to work, pick the kids up from school, and take them to extra activities after school," she said.
"I have had the chance to eat with my husband a little bit more because we can have dinner together now, and have weekends to go around Tasmania.
"We have also made very good Latin American friends here as well," she said.
Maria and Janah
Claudia and Cesar have also raised two children in Australia, Maria, 14, and Janah, 7. Maria, who is in grade 8, attends St Pats and enjoys school, and playing soccer.
Maria plays soccer for Northern Rangers and her school team, and is also a representative player, and went to Canberra earlier this year to play.
Mr Penuela says he wants his children to succeed and have a great future in Australia. He gets emotional when he talks about his children and Maria's sporting achievements.
"She has won several coaches' awards and her dream is to be like Sam Kerr," he said on the brink of tears.
"She wants to represent Australian soccer, but now she is facing this thing of not becoming an Australian," he said.
Claudia said Janah had started to take part in gymnastics at PCYC but needed to stop the activity because they were being forced to leave.
Questions of doubt
Mr Penuala said he was surprised and devastated to find out the tribunal had rejected his visa application.
"I'm a skilled person. I have my certificates here in Australia, my work experience is over 10 years in this industry in Australia," Mr Penuala said.
"When you haven't done anything wrong and you have to deal with so many things, it makes you feel frustrated and desperate.
"You work hard on your skills on being a good citizen and following the law and then someone else comes and affects your life."
Mr Peneula said he felt happy when he saw migrants succeeding in Australia.
"At the same time, you ask yourself, why not me, what am I doing wrong? What am I missing?" he said.
"Then you look at it and say no, I haven't done anything wrong.
"They ask me to have a good level of English, I have been working on that. They ask me to work and pay taxes, I have done that. They ask me to look after the health of my family, I have done that.
"We are willing to work hard, to help our community."
How did it come to this?
Mr Penuela arrived in Australia from Colombia in search of a better life. To apply for permanent residency, Mr Penuela relied on business sponsorship, and was offered employment by a Launceston business in 2017.
In a letter dated August 10, 2017, an offer of employment with a confirmation of sponsorship to secure permanent residency was issued by the business.
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To secure permanent residency, he needed his employer to submit the appropriate documentation as part of his Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa.
On March 29, 2019, a letter from the Department of Home Affairs requested Mr Penuela's employer provide more information to progress his application.
The business that employed Mr Penuela needed to supply statements to show the following;
- Business Activity Statements that have been lodged with the Australian Taxation Office
- tax returns for the last financial year
- recent financial reports (profit and loss statements for the last financial year)
- annual report
- bank statements covering the most recent 12-month period of operation
- lease agreements or property ownership relating to business/organisation's premises
- registration with industry associations
- contracts to provide services or work orders.
On May 11, 2019, the Department of Immigration came back saying that the company did not submit any documentation therefore, the application from the company was refused.
The letter from the Department of Home Affairs states it was unable to determine that Mr Penuela would have been employed for more than two years.
On March 28, 2019, the department wrote to the nominator requesting further information regarding the financial viability of the business, among other requirements.
No further information was ever received.
"Since insufficient claims or evidence have been submitted against sub-regulation 5.19 (3), the applicant has failed to demonstrate they meet sub-regulation 5.19 (3).
After begging for an extension of time, and asking for his employer to submit the appropriate paperwork, Mr Penuela's efforts never came to fruition.
'We appealed the case in 2019 and paid for a lawyer. It was around $8000 including all the legal fees.
"This year in May we received an email from the tribunal asking for a hearing which we had in July this year."
On October 13, 2022, a letter from the Administrative Appeals Tribunal said it had refused to grant his family visas.
Mr Penuela said he planned on leaving Launceston on November 11, and had already purchased tickets to Colombia. However, he was willing to do anything to stay in Australia.
Satria Dyer-Darmawan
Satria Dyer-Darmawan is a journalist for The Examiner and considers himself to be an all rounder. Originally from the Central Coast of NSW, Satria has worked in Alice Springs and North Queensland and isn't afraid to immerse himself in regional communities.
Satria Dyer-Darmawan is a journalist for The Examiner and considers himself to be an all rounder. Originally from the Central Coast of NSW, Satria has worked in Alice Springs and North Queensland and isn't afraid to immerse himself in regional communities.
