Albany woman’s dreams on hold as COVID-19 pandemic pushes partner’s 26-month marriage visa wait into limbo

Albany woman Britney Plug, 26, dreams of getting married, buying her first home and starting a family with her fiance. But the young couple have been separated by an ocean since December, with no idea when they will see each other face-to-face again. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced their life into limbo, with more than 5000km between Ms Plug and her fiance Keno Gonzales, 30, in the Philippines. The long-distance lovers have been waiting for an Australian prospective marriage visa for nearly 26 months. Prospective marriage visas allow offshore applicants to travel to Australia, where they must marry their partner within nine months before they can apply for permanent residency. Seventy-five per cent of applications are expected to be processed within 16 months and 90 per cent within 29 months, according to the Department of Home Affairs. Application costs start at $7715. But Ms Plug said the global pandemic and Australia’s strict travel restrictions had thrown an already sluggish system into disarray. She is one of about 100,000 Australians waiting for partner visa approvals. With families and couples stranded on opposite sides of Australia’s hard border, thousands of people have signed a parliamentary petition calling for urgent reform of application processes and wait times. A Department of Home Affairs spokesman said to limit the spread of COVID-19, temporary visa holders who did not meet travel exemptions were prevented from entering Australia from March 20. “Prospective marriage visa holders are not exempt from the current travel ban,” the spokesman said. “However, they are able to apply for an exemption from the Australian Border Force Commissioner if they have compelling and compassionate reasons to travel to Australia. “The Government will ease travel restrictions once it is safe to do so and consider options for visa holders who were unable to travel to Australia during this period.” For couples like Ms Plug and Mr Gonzales, who have already endured an excruciating two-year wait, there is still no indication of when they can see each other again. “We would be married by now, we would have started our family,” Ms Plug said. “But obviously that is on hold because he is stuck there. “I would pay a ridiculous amount for a flight, I would pay for his hotel quarantine, we would do all the right things just to get him here if that’s what it took. “Had Home Affairs been faster and more organised to begin with, we could have had all of this done before COVID — we should have, by all accounts. “I could accept that if COVID was the only reason.” Ms Plug said she felt an instant connection with her fiance after meeting over Facebook through a mutual friend in 2016. “He’s a very gentle, humble person. He’s easy to talk to and once he gets going, he can really talk,” she said. “We have really good conversations and we share the same values and morals.” Their relationship blossomed from behind a computer screen for a year before Ms Plug travelled to the Philippines for the first time and they became a couple. The following year, Ms Plug travelled to the Philippines and Bali to meet up with Mr Gonzales because they were advised by an immigration agent that he was unlikely to secure a tourist visa. After meeting each other’s families, the pair became engaged in Bali in March 2018 and started their visa application in June. “At the time, we were advised it would be between six to 14 months processing — that just dragged on and on,” she said. “They want all sorts of evidence of your relationship. “Nothing is private. “You are having to prove something that you know in your heart is so true.” Ms Plug said the couple had paid for medical and police clearances which had expired since they started their application. They even had to pay a deposit on a wedding venue, but when the visa was not approved in time, the money went up in smoke. Ms Plug, who works as a manager at McDonald’s in Albany, said the application costs alone had been more than $12,000. In February, the couple were assigned a case manager by the Department of Home Affairs. “We got assigned a case officer, which basically means it is off the queue and it’s on someone’s desk,” she said. “We were pretty much almost there and then COVID came and they pretty much put it all on hold. They are not even looking at them. “It’s been really horrible. “I struggle with anxiety at the best of times so it all came crashing down in May. “I am living life as best I can, so you have to try and stay positive, but it has been really hard. “Even for my family, they want to see him again, they want to see us get married and spend the rest of our life together and you just don’t even know when that is going to happen. “That’s my dream, but it’s on hold.”