Tom and Adva
Tom and I met in Israel 25 Years ago. It was love at first sight. We met on my kibbutz, he was a volunteer and I just came back from England. After two wonderful months together, we decided to fly to western Australia.
Australia’s beauty captivated us, and we started nurturing dreams of a future return.
A decade later, we were given the opportunity to do so. We were already married, with two beautiful daughters and were living in the same kibbutz we first met.
A friend told us that Australia needed carpenters and we could apply for residency. It did not take us too long to make the decision to make the move to Australia as a family.
Navigating the immigration process was complicated and confusing!! We decided to find an immigration lawyer to help us. Lisa came highly recommended to us by friends and we chose to work with her.
After month of hard work, meetings, and tests, we submitted the request and our lives stood still while awaiting the results of the visa. Lisa warned us that we may have to wait a year or so until we hear back from the Australian authorities.
After a year of waiting, we got the happy announcement from Lisa that our skills assessment had been approved. The joy and happiness were cut short when two days later we received the painful news that carpentry was removed from the profession list, and as a result, we couldn’t proceed. We were heartbroken; we did not know how much longer we would have to wait. It was a very difficult blow indeed.
We couldn’t continue to put our lives on hold any longer, and we decided to invest in things we hold dear to ourselves while waiting. Tom invested in a new hobby while I opened my business.
Eventually, after two more years, carpentry was restored to the skilled migration list and we proceeded to obtain our permanent resident visas.
By that point, most of our savings were invested in my successful beauty salon. We decided to sell it to fund our move to Australia.
We ordered flight tickets for Tom to arrive early and start looking for work and housing while the girls and I will join up later.
A week before the move, my salon was broken into and 20,000$ worth of stuff was stolen!
I remember the despair I felt when standing at the salon entrance, thinking how are we going to start our lives in Australia with no money???
In a race to get all the money, I sold all our furniture, and three months later we landed at Perth with four suitcases, two young girls and 1000 dollars.
Starting all over with only 1000 dollars and two young girls was a real challenge, but we had no intention of giving up on our new life in Australia.
In first few months we faced many hurdles, like finding work, housing (which was almost impossible at the time) and admitting our daughters in new school.
With the help of new friends, we found a house in a town by the sea. For the next four years we enjoyed our new lifestyle and allowed ourselves to enjoy every moment of our new life.
Our dreams did not stop there. After four years we started building our house in Mandurah, we love that house!
Our heart kept pulling us to Western Australia. In the end, and after many expectations, we settled in a pastoral and picturesque area of the Margaret River. This magical place became our happiness’s ultimate destination. Surrounded by nature’s beauty and Immersed in a sense of satisfaction, we are thriving in this peaceful paradise.
Our journey would not have been possible without the support and direction of our immigration lawyer, Lisa Segelov. She helped us navigate the complicated bureaucratic maze, the endless worry from the paperwork, and provided us with confidence every step of the way.
With deep gratitude, we thank Lisa Segelov for her vital help. She stood beside us with the whole chaotic immigration process, and never let us give up on our dream.
Today we are proud to say that we made the final step in completing our immigration process by applying for citizenship.
ulrichadva@gmail.com
