Australia visa changes sends footballers home

August 10 2009 by Matt Jones

Susuve had his Australia visa rejected

Rising unemployment in Australia has foreced the government there to adopt a stricter approach to issuing visas. This has resulted in a number of foreign Australian rules football stars being sent back to their homeland.

Australia has not been so affected by the recession as many other countries, but rising unemployment levels have caused changes in how working visas are permitted. The aim now is to give preference to local permanent residents.

For footballers, the primary Australia visas used to gain entry are sporting or work visas, but competition is becoming increasingly tight. They are especially hard to obtain for people from developing countries, which includes many of the countries that make up Oceania.

Gold Coast Football Club recruit from PNG, Stanis Susuve and countryman Emmaus Wartovo, who was starring for East Davenport in the Northern Tasmania Football League, were forced to return home. The same was true for numerous other Papuans.

These players have now missed matches potentially critical for their future career progression.

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