Narayan Shrestha* spends most of his days now in his room at his residence in the Nepali capital, Kathmandu, contemplating if he will ever be able to be with his wife in Australia.
Shortly after their wedding in 2018, his wife Sushila Parajuli* left the country to pursue higher education in Sydney.
Having dated for six years prior to their wedding, the couple were not too concerned about being apart from each other for a short period of time.
The plan was for Shrestha to apply for a partner visa once his wife had settled in the new city.
A few months after Ms Parajuli’s arrival in Australia, he applied for a partner visa.
Source: Photo by Gustavo Fring from Pexels
But after ten months of waiting, the couple received a rude shock with the Department of Home Affairs declining their visa application.
The rejection, he says, has left him depressed and uncertain about his future.
He has submitted another application and is awaiting the outcome but can’t see a way out of this situation.
“I am not able to do to anything now, can’t carry out my daily routine,” Shrestha told SBS Nepali.
“I can’t talk to anyone about my situation. Sometimes, I am unable to deal with it all and have suicidal tendencies,” he says.
Monica* contemplated suicide after moving to Australia from India. Source: Supplied
Paying a high price for visa
Hundreds of others are stranded in Nepal in a similar way, with their lives in limbo, too.
Australia is a dream destination for many Nepalis, with the country in 2018-2019 period. More than 4,000 Nepal-born people received permanent residency during that period.
Similarly, at the end of 2019, there were more than 57,000 student visa holders from Nepal, .
Many students, who apply to bring in their partners to Australia, end up facing a similar situation as that of Narayan Shrestha and Sushila Parajuli.
"One of the many educational consultancies in Kathmandu providing services to students wanting to study in Australia". (Representative Photo) Source: Sewa Bhattarai / SBS Nepali
High financial cost
On average, aspirant partners end up paying anywhere between $20,000 AUD to $60,000 AUD in costs, that include visa application fees, Australian college or university fees and charges by educational consultancies or migration agents.
With such large amount of money on the line, many end up using their family property as collateral for a bank loan. When their applications are rejected, they are left with huge loans and no way of paying it back.
Keshav Lamichhane* from Nepal’s southern district of Chitwan is one such applicant.
“I have spent more than $31,000 AUD already, and I sold a piece of land to cover the expenses," he said.
"Meanwhile, my wife’s college fees keep increasing, so I need even more money. If only I was in Australia, I could earn and pay it all back, but now I am just stuck with increasing loans.”
A delay in skilled migration could impact certain visa holders Source: Getty Images
Arbitrary decision from officials?
Many say the most common reasons provided by the Department of Home Affairs for rejecting their visa application is their inability to prove their relationship is “genuine” or that the applicants had “no intention of returning to Nepal.”
Such ‘arbitrary decisions’ they say have put their lives on hold and as such are unable to plan for a future and build their family.
Jeevan Uprety* also from Chitwan, would like to restart his life after waiting for a visa for several years but says he doesn’t know what to do.
Source: Getty Images/Klaus Vedfelt
“My wife did not do well in her studies and transferred to another college. I feel that’s because she is alone there and lacks the support that a husband could have given her. I asked her to come back (to Nepal) so that we can restart life here. But she refused because she has already invested two years in it,” he said.
Disagreements like these are straining many young couples' relationships, who were hoping to build a new life together.
Most of them complain of not having regular or meaningful conversations with their partners. And in extreme cases, some say that they have become estranged from their partners.
thousands migrate to Australia using partner visas, but the government is cracking down on those abusing the system Source: Getty Images
Broken relationships
Sabin GC* and his wife have been together for over ten years, eloping to get married at the young age of 21. GC worked in Dubai for many years while his wife was in Nepal.
But when his wife’s visa application for Australia was accepted, he left his job there and came back to Nepal, only to have his Australian visa application rejected twice. During his two year wait for the visa, his relationship with his wife gradually worsened, and they are no longer on talking terms.
“When people are alone in foreign countries, they have much more freedom than in Nepal, which is not good for a long-distance relationship. My wife gradually stopped taking my advice, and eventually stopped talking to me. Later I found that she is living with someone else,” says GC.
Many couples who thought they can weather the problems of long-distance relationship are increasingly getting concerned after hearing other peoples' stories.
Source: SBS
After a few years of dating, Nisha* got married to Bishal*, who left for Australia. Nisha's visa application was rejected in January of this year, and she was inconsolable.
“We had made so many plans together. We wanted to study, work, then come back to Nepal to raise our children and take care of our aging parents. Now all that is delayed because my application was rejected. And I hear so many stories about failing marriages that I feel insecure,” she says.
Mostly, the applicants are angry about the “unfairness” of the process.
Why have the provision of partner visas if they are going to be rejected?
"Why reject genuine marriages as fake after taking several months and thousands of dollars? If Australia had just told us that students are not allowed to have dependents, we would not have applied. But this is like a bait which simply lures us but takes us nowhere,” said one.
What to do when your visa is cancelled Source: Supplied
Right to appeal
In a statement, a spokesperson from the Department of Home Affairs said, “People who apply for a visa on the basis of a partner relationship with another person are assessed against the criteria set out in migration legislation relating to married or de facto partner relationships.”
However, people who go through arranged marriage may not be able to prove an “ongoing” relationship with their partner. In this case, the spokesperson says, “provided it has occurred with the consent of both parties and is valid under the Australian Marriage Act 1961, is assessed on the same basis as any other valid marriage.”
“All aspects of the relationship are considered and assessed on the basis of information provided,” adds the spokesperson.
Niraj Shrestha is a migration agent in Sydney and many of his clients include people in a similar situation.
While he is sympathetic towards the troubles faced by many applicants, he says the visa application process is fair.
He also highlights the opportunity available in Australia to appeal against visa refusals.
Source: Supplied
“When the primary applicant is already in Australia then they can take visa decision to Administrative Appeals Tribunal, who can then decide whether the decision taken by the Home Affairs department is fair or not,” he said.
But he admits that many of his clients have withdrawn their partner visa application due to relationship breakdown.
*Names of the visa applicants have been changed for privacy reasons.
