"The Australian Dream"
Before
coming to Australia, I had to visit the Australian Department of Immigration
and Border Control’s website. My purpose then was to apply for a visitor visa,
but I was pulled in by the site’s pleasant visual display and its quickly
accessible information. I eventually ended up on a webpage detailing how to
become a permanent resident in Australia, one who remains a citizen of another
country but has a permanent visa to live in Australia. Permanent residents can
then become Australian citizens through a separate process. I was mostly
interested in this because I am a permanent resident in the United States, and
have undergone the process with my parents to apply for this status. My
curiosity was piqued in the differences between the two countries’ policies.
However, this all occurred before I came to Australia and I quickly put the
topic of immigration out of my mind unless it directly involved me and my visa.
I
hadn’t revisited this idea until I sat down to have lunch with Dr. Nandan
Deshpande and Dr. Chandrika Deshpande in Sydney. The couple were old colleagues
of my parents who we reconnected with when I came to Australia. They had moved
here in 2006 from India after finishing their graduate degrees in biochemistry
and medicine, and were coming to pursue their interests in scientific research
at the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney. Our
conversation was mostly about catching up, but in the midst we began to talk
about their process of moving to Australia, settling down and becoming
permanent residents, and finally becoming Australian citizens.
The
carefree internet exploring I did on the Australian Immigration website before
coming on this trip suddenly re-entered my mind. I asked them about what their
experience was like to move to a foreign country first. They recounted that in
the beginning it was very lonely because their family and friends remained in
India, and how hard it was to find a place in a new culture. As they became
more settled in their careers, they began to make plans to stay in Australia
permanently, through the permanent residency program. For them, this was a long
and arduous process. But, they were clear that it was worthwhile because it
gave them access to benefits like unlimited residence and work. Most
importantly, however, it made them eligible for Australian citizenship. During
this process, they had to renounce their Indian citizenship and apply to
Australia by taking a formal test and getting approved. It was very similar to
the American process of citizenship for a permanent resident. The most
interesting thing that Nandan noted was that it was very easy to become an
Australian citizen after becoming a resident, but it was very difficult to
become a permanent resident in the first place.
The
setting of our conversation was fitting as well because we were eating at a
Malaysian-Indian fusion restaurant. It was a reflection of how diverse this
country is because of the unique characteristics it is defined by. It holds
many of the professional and lifestyle opportunities that our “American Dream”
advertises, with a much closer proximity to the countries its immigrants
originate from. For example, Nandan and Chandrika’s parents can come to visit
them, often staying for nearly eight months a year.
For a
country that at certain periods of time had a legal policy preventing people of
non-European descent from immigrating to Australia, it has come a long way. The
“White Australia” policy was driven by economic purposes, to eliminate Asian
immigrants from competing with British settlers for jobs. Now, Australia is
recovering from the consequences of these policies and has an immigrant
population of close to 6.7 million, roughly 30% of the country. This number has
been climbing since the post-World War II era, sharply rising in the late 90s.
During this recent period, the number of Asian immigrants, particularly from
China and India has increased. These immigrants define a very strong portion of
Australia’s economic structure and take on very important roles in Australian
society. For example, Nandan and Chandrika both study healthcare issues and are
part of the scientific force making strides in breast cancer research.
My very
informal interview ended with them asking me questions about what it was like
to apply to be and live in the United States as a permanent resident. I was
able to reflect on the very difficult and expensive experience my parents had
with hiring an immigration lawyer and spending years living in uncertainty that
we could stay in the US. Because I was younger than eleven at the time, the process
remained mostly a mystery to me. This lunch conversation made me more curious
to go back and learn more about it, so I could understand my parents’
experiences better. Like many of the other experiences I have had studying
abroad in Australia, even in such a short time, I have been inspired to embark
on personal reflections of my family, my Indian and American culture, and how I
can move forward with a good understanding of my past. A powerful theme in studying
abroad has become very clear during many instances in this trip that the
differences we observe between a foreign culture and ourselves is a very good
lens for reflection on ourselves.
- Australian Citizenship Process
- Statistics of Australian Immigration
- Dr. Chandrika Deshpande's Research on Breast Cancer
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