stuck in Australia?

Wow. What a mess.

I completely understand that everyone is dealing with the situation as best as they can at the moment, but the lack of communication in some cases was just not unbelievable. I think I haven't been more stressed in my life than I have been in the last 2 weeks. Crying, worrying, being frustrated, surprised and feeling like I have been running in an endless circle every day. Some days, I felt like my mind is going to explode.

Let's start at the beginning. We have heard about the virus in January already but at that time it was still far away in China and of course you would think "that's China, they have all sorts of weird stuff going on there". Looking back I still remember the day we were driving to The Great Ocean road and joking on the account of Coronavirus - well looks like its not funny anymore.

Weeks went by and nothing really happened. Europe was still fine, there was a bit of talk about The Diamond Princess in the Australian media, but nothing that would cause too much concern. I was still going to work, went to the gym regurarly and visited all the touristic places - trying to make most of my work/tourist time in Australia. And then I started hearing about the situation in Italy. Considering that Slovenia borders it, I was paying closer attention. At the beginning it wasn't that bad and people were still allowed to cross the border and life was usual in Slovenia. People started washing their hands more but (I think) only a few people realised that the worst was just coming. Long story short, everything changed drastically and so quickly. They shut down schools and Universities. When i heard about, I was happy they were taking an initiative but was not really thinking how everything would change quickly. Because my internship was finishing soon I was supposed to return back to Europe in 3 weeks and I was pretty sure the situation will still be okay then. Especially in Australia, we haven't heard about any cases here at that point. I still remember talking to my colleagues that time saying "Yea the University just got cancelled in Slovenia" and we thought it was funny (kidn of, more surprising maybe?). The next day when I came to work I heard that schools (in Slovenia) shut down. Then the gyms started closing and everything followed like the domino effect. I only know what I have heard in the media and from my friends, but I knew back then that things are going down really fast. Italy at that point was already "screwed" and I think Slovenia took initiative quite fast, so I thought everything is gonna be fine. Everything was fine until they announced to shut down the Ljubljana airport and that is when I started to worry. I wasn't even planning to fly back to Slovenia because I needed to come back to Finland in April. I still had some classes at the University, I needed to write my master thesis there and of course, I wanted to spend time with my friends before the semester was over and everyone leaves for the summer. It is really funny and sad at the same time - I had big plans about coming back to Finland and I was excited: skiing, playing volleyball again, movie nights and pancake breakfasts with friends, hiking, bbq, vappu... So in the back of my mind, I was still a bit calmer because I thought "well, I am flying to Helsinki, so no need to worry anyway". I also started following the situation in Finland and kind of estimated that they were around 14 days "behind" Slovenia (I have no idea if that was true or not, that was just my estimation). Deep down I knew everything that happened in Slovenia is gonna eventually happen all over Europe, it was just a question of time. I was hoping I would make it back before that happened but I couldn't be more wrong.

Monday

It was Monday 16.3 and the previous day I was thinking a lot about the situation and how it is going to affect me. I have read the news and saw that "the peak" is supposed to be mid-April (now, I don't know how true that is). According to that, I thought I would be okay with coming back to Finland in 3 weeks (and Finland at that time was still way behind the situation in Slovenia). After all, my flight wasn't cancelled yet (still isn't). So on Monday, I thought I was gonna call the consulate of Slovenia (in Melbourne) just to double-check. I called during their working times (in the late afternoon) and they gave me a contact of Slovenian embassy in Canberra, saying I should call them. They opened the next day in the morning so I had to wait another day to call them.

By that time the situation in Australia also changed a little bit. They started confirming more cases and started taking precautions. Events over 500 people were cancelled (aka Grand Prix) and people were advised to wash hands more often, but no other extreme measures have been implemented (at least not that I would know). I am an exercise physiologist and work within the health system (in Australia) we have been given strict regulations about washing our hands and using the sanitizer all the time. Especially because we have been seeing the elderly population and patients with pre-existing chronic conditions most of the time - so the population that is most at risk. Halfway through my workday on monday (I worked at the "clinical gym") they shut us down. And I knew that it was coming, I just didn't know it was gonna happen so suddenly. Because all the patients were cancelled for the rest of the day I spent my hours helping with some research projects.

Tuesday

The rest of the week I worked at the Clinical exercise centre within the University. My work on Tuesdays started at 11 and I had a chance to call the embassy beforehand. I was optimistic, I believed they must have solutions for these kind of situations. And I wasn't being too afraid at that point because Finland still had open borders and my flight was still on. I just wanted to be informed and have possibilities what to do if the situation was about to change. The woman I spoke to was really friendly and tried to help me. But as soon as she said "look this is not formal information yet, but Finland is planning to also close the border in the next couple of days" I freaked out. I couldn't believe what I was hearing and I wasn't prepared for that at all. And then it really hit me for the first time - I might not be able to get home.

It is so funny because one week ago (when they closed University in Slovenia) we were joking at my work with people saying "oh Tjaša, you might not be able to get home" and I would reply smiling "yea, I guess I will just have to extend my stay haha" - haha, not so funny one week later. I was terrified.

The woman at the embassy advised me that I follow the news and my flight updates in the next couple of days. And basically, until my flight is cancelled there is really not much I can do. But as soon as my flight gets cancelled she advised me to call the airline and the embassy again (I was most worried about my Visa because it was about to expire on 4.4). So I got instructions to sit and wait. And I knew at that time I was talking to my mum and apparently they advised people not to try to come to Slovenia if not necessary, that it is better to stay where we are if possible. Because the situation was quite bad already.

Anyway, that moment (just before work) I got the information that most likely it will be impossible to get back to Finland. That took me completely off guard and I broke down just before entering the workplace - perfect. Everyone saw what a crybaby I am. My supervisor was super nice and offered to help, however there was not much she could do. That day we were still working at the clinic doing "admin work" but weren't seeing clients (because we closed the gym).

At the end of the day, I was really upset because I was even more confused. The lady at the embassy told me to contact Immigration services (in Australia) because she couldn't advise me regarding my visa that is expiring. And since I was 90% sure my flight to Finland is going to be cancelled I needed to figure out the visa situation asap. I got home from work at 19 so had to wait until the next day, because their working hours were over.

Wednesday

On Wednesday I went to the Heart and Diabetes Institute to do some research hours and during the lunch break, I finally had time to call the immigration service in Melbourne. After waiting on a line for 25 minutes (which is totally acceptable atm and I understand) I got nowhere. I had all the information ready - visa number, passport details, contact information. The man who was on the line and was supposed to help me didn't ask for a single thing. He wasn't even interested in my individual case. Long story short, he told me that all the information is online and that I should check there. LOL as if I didn't check all the information before calling. I went through it several times but couldn't find what I was looking for. That is why I called and waited forever on the phone. And yet again he said to check online and otherwise he can't help me. Thanks for nothing!

At that point I was sure I would have to stay longer so having my visa extended was my priority but nobody could help. And since I have relatives in Melbourne I could stay a bit longer if I had too and it wouldn+t be the worst thing ever. But on the other hand, I didn't want to be a burden and really wanted to go back home (home=finland).

Thursday

On Thursday I was officially done with internship, since we weren't coming to the clinic on Friday due to the situation. Bittersweet feeling but this is far from how I wanted it to end. So on Thursday I moved back from the apartment near my workplace to my uncle and tried to find more information on what to do. I have received an email from the Slovenian embassy that I should fill in some information online from Ministry of foreign affairs (haven't heard anything special from them since). The email also emphasized that no one will stay without avisa in Australia if they can't go home which calmed me down a little bit. But then, I was even more confused because it didn't say how to extend it - they just provided a link to the Immigration Services Australia website and I was back to square one. So I called the immigration services again. After a long wait on the line, a woman picked up and asked what she can help me with. She was a bit more informative than the man on Monday but still only referred me to their website. I didn't get any information about my specific case. So after we finished on the phone I went to their website for the millionth time and read everything possible. Aftera a long time trying to figure out a situation I came to a realization that there is no "temporary" visa or a possibility to extend my tourist visa subclass 651. I had to apply for another regular visa.

Now, I went over all the visas there are and I realized my choices were quite limited because I am already in Australia. For my current visa (evisitor 651) I didn't have to pay anything but had to apply outside of Australia and could only stay here for 3 months. So couldn't apply for the same visa again. Long story short, I realized the only way to extend my stay (in case I wouldn't be able to get home) was to apply for Australian Tourist Visa (subclass 600) and pay 365 dollars. I couldn't believe that I would have to pay more than 300 dollars so I can stay in Australia longer, because I was not able to go home. I thought that in a situation like this foreigners would get a temporary visa extension considering everything, but I guess I was wrong. So on Thursday I had finally come down to the 2 options I have

- hope that my flight to Finland doesn't get cancelled and try to make it home on 1.4

- apply for a new visa and pay 365 dollars for it in case Qatar airlines cancels my flight.

Friday

On Friday I woke up finally being able to relax a little bit because I had a plan. And now there was nothing else I could do but wait.

But then later in the morning, I started thinking how hard it would be for me to enter Finland (as I am not a citizen, I only have a residence permit). I tried contacting the Finnish Embassy in Australia but they have already closed earlier that day. I have sent them an email but haven't gotten a reply yet I was talking to my friend in Finland and she called Migri (immigrational service in Finland) for me, checking if I could come back. They said yes (with residence permit) but that the situation changes all the time so they can't say for sure. She told me to contact Finnish border control. Again, I couldn't call them, so sent them a message. I also messaged University explaining them my situation. They assured me that I would be able to come back but need to double check before flying. They also advised me to try to come back as soon as possible.

Saturday and Sunday

There wasn't much I could do but wait for a reply regarding my emails. On Saturday I stumbled on an interview regarding returning to Slovenia from Australia online. It said most of the things I already knew but the man speaking also assured that once a Slovene citizen enters Europe he/she will be able to come home. So that calmed a little bit; even if I couldn't get back to Finland, once in Europe I should be able to get to Slovenia?

During the weekend I was following the news from Slovene tourists that were trying to get back home. There is a FB group "Ljubljana airport closed - help each other to get home". In the group, passengers were just basically updating where they were and how they were (trying) to get home. I felt really really sorry for some people because they were in such a bad situation. While reading the comments and their stories I have realized it is a pain in the ass coming back to Slovenia nowadays. Since our only airport in the country closed days ago, all the tourist need to fly either to Croatia, Austria or Germany and find their way home (which is really hard because all the public transport has been shut down). Some people didn't have any trouble but some passengers were almost not allowed on the aircraft since they didn't have a Croatian passport. They had to call Slovenian embassy in Croatia to issue them a document they could show to airlines (that Slovenian citizens are allowed to fly to Croatia). Anyway, I wouldn't have the same »problem« since I was flying to Helsinki but then I started wondering if they would really let me into Finland without a Finnish passport.

I had a »reassurance« from University that I would be able to enter Finland but because you can never be too sure nowadays. I have also sent an email to the Finnish embassy in Australia and Finnish border force. Just to be 100% and not have any more problems when/if I would be flying back to Finland.

Monday

On Monday I got a response from the Finnish embassy that I have a right to return to Finland on the base of my residence permit. Finnish border force has yet to reply to me but now I at least have an email that I can show to Qatar Airlines if I would be to have any problems. I also have downloaded my residence permit and saved it to my phone – just in case. Now, my flight was supposed to be on 1.4 but on Monday I was already looking at the options to rebook my flight to Wednesday 25th. Because at that time I just wanted to be over with the drama and come home. Moreover, in Victoria, the minister announced the closure of schools, restaurants and all non-urgent services. So even though I don't have to work anymore I can't really go anywhere. And yes, I live in a house with a pool, but that doesn't really help me if we have 13 degrees outside (Melbourne weather sucks haha).

Tuesday

I woke up ready to call Qatar Airlines only to realize their office closed and of course, I was supposed to find all the information online. So I went online and after half an hour found what I was looking for. I wanted to rebook my flight but to my surprise, there were NO flights available until 1.4 (when I was supposed to fly home anyway). Actually, one hour ago there was one flight option for Saturday 28.3 BUT the ticket cost 13 000 dollars which I don't have. Thanks but no thanks. So for now, I guess there is nothing else to do but to wait until next week and really hope that my flight doesn't get cancelled and that I safely come home on 2nd of April. If I am stuck somewhere in Doha or Helsinki, please send help haha. Andi f I make it back to Jyväskylä, I will spend the next 14 days binge-watching tv shows (so any recommendations would be helpful so I don't die out of boredom ), or I anyone in JKL has a spare guitar, I would love to rent or buy it =)

I just want to emphasize - I KNOW people have it way worse than me nowadays and I am super grateful to at least have an option (kind of) to stay in Australia with my relatives and not have to pay for accommodation. But the lack of help really frustrated me. I don’t mind waiting on the line for 50 minutes (which I did) for Immigration Services to help me, but if all they say at the end is “check our website” that is when I got really mad. And if I think that I am not the only one in this situation (in Australia) and people don’t have anywhere to stay, then it is really sad.

If I have to stay in Australia for 3 more weeks, fine. If I have to pay 365 dollars to apply for a new visa, fine. If I have to be in isolation when I come back to Finland, also fine. If I get stuck in Doha – not fine anymore. I understand that this is an extreme situation, but especially in times like these, you would expect to be a bit more informed about what was going on. All this time I just wanted to get some information and the options what to do and I think I haven’t been more stressed in my life than in the past 10 days. I know that people are doing everything they can, but it still sucks.

So… I researched all the options (I think) and now, there isn’t really much to do but to wait. Wait and hope they don’t cancel my flight next week, wait and hope I don’t get stuck in Asia and hope they let me into Finland.