One fine day in 2008, Imran Nawaz had a dream to make a life in Australia. This Australia Day, Imran Nawaz is all set to become an Australian citizen. Hailing from city of Sargodha in Pakistan, Nawaz says this journey hasn’t been easy.
“There were ups and downs, and the first two years were the hardest,” he says, adding that he had first lived in Adelaide when he arrived in Australia in 2011.
“Luck didn’t work for me and I struggled a lot to find work there. That’s when I almost gave up and moved to Sydney.”
Nawaz came to Australia on a permanent residence visa. He says he understands the journey would have been longer and tougher, had he first come here as an international student.
The application process for the permanent visa took him three years. He had applied for his Australian citizenship two years and three months ago.
The hardest part
The first few years were very tough, he recalls.
“There weren’t enough job opportunities. There was contractual work but it wasn’t enough.”
Nawaz says it was very difficult to adjust in a time routine where everything closes at 4pm. He remembers his weekends back in Pakistan, where he says he would start his day around midday. That, he says, here is unpractical for everyone gets up early and wraps up early.
Nawaz came to Australia on a PR visa. He says the journey would have been longer and tougher, had he first come here as an international student.
“We eventually got used to it,” he says with a smile, “started learning the culture, values and mastered the language.”
Nawaz moved to Australia with his wife and his son was born after a six-year wait.
His son, the first Australian citizen of the family, is two now.
The “racist” image?
Imran and his wife waited six years to become parents. Source: Imran Nawaz
Nawaz says international media have portrayed a wrong image of Australia as a “racist” country. He says he has always felt at home and safe here.
It was very difficult to adjust in a time routine where everything closes at 4pm. Back in Pakistan, I would start my weekends around midday.
He compares it with the news about Pakistan and dismisses the media narrative and discourse that women were not safe in Pakistan.
“Media project false images. Just as they do in Pakistan’s case, and also in Australia’s case.”
Lessons learned
Nawaz’s two major lessons from his life in Australia, he says, are honesty and dedication.
“I would not have realized this as quickly as I did now if I was still in Pakistan,” he says.
“I have learned that if you are honest and dedicated, and focused on your goals; no one can stop you.”
The delays
While thousands of people will become Australian citizens this Australia Day, there are many thousands of cases where people wait for their fate – some for as long as two years.
Every time I log into my online account, I discover that the processing time has increased. From three months to six months, to a year and now 22 months: Khan
Sydney-based Tanveer Khan is one of them.
He says he has been waiting for over two years to hear back from the authorities on his citizenship test.
“I have been planning to visit Pakistan for something very urgent, but I cannot go. What if they send me a test date and I am unable to make it back on time.”
Nawaz’s two major lessons from his life in Australia, he says, are honesty and dedication.
Khan says, every time he logs into his online account, he discovers that the processing time has increased. From three months to six months, to a year and now 22 months, he says.
For M*, who didn’t wish to be named, the wait means making some very crucial life and career decisions. He says he had to refuse a very promising job offer from the Middle East because he does not want to move out of the country before becoming an Australian citizen.
SBS Urdu contacted the Home Affairs Department in Australia to find out the reasons for delay.
For more great stories in Urdu
Also, listen to SBS Urdu radio program on Wednesdays and Sundays at 6:00 pm AEST.
