Chef left to stew on visa
Still no word from officials
A MUCH-LOVED Geelong chef who fears he and his family could soon be deported is concerned he has been left in the dark as politicians work to help him.
Italian national Luciano Gandolfo, a 50-year-old chef at Geelong’s Centra restaurant, this week raised concerns his pathway to permanent residency had been cut off, forcing him to reapply for temporary skills-shortage visas indefinitely.
Mr Gandolfo’s plight caught the attention of federal Citizenship Minister Alan Tudge, who this month said he would “look at this matter closely”.
Mr Tudge’s office has since said he would not be commenting further on the issue, and would not confirm or deny whether they were going through a ministerial intervention process.
Mr Gandolfo said he had also spoken to local federal MPs Richard Marles and Sarah Henderson who both told him they would attempt to help.
But the popular family man has since been left concerned that he had not heard anything from his apparent political saviours.
“Of course we are worried about that,” he said. “No one will tell me anything, whether it will be today, tomorrow, next week, what will happen, what’s been done, nothing.”
“It makes me feel nervous. We’ve been waiting, but it’s not easy to wait when it’s something very important.”
Mr Gandolfo moved to Australia on a 457 visa with wife Mary Ann Torres and daughter Catherine in 2010, before receiving visa sponsorship from Centra Geelong restaurant owner Cameron O’Keefe three years ago.
Mr Gandolfo’s dream has been to achieve permanent residency in Australia, but he said multiple applications had been knocked back because he failed to pass a challenging English test six times.
Mr Tudge had earlier said Mr Gandolfo had little to fear while his Centra boss continued to sponsor his visa.
“While an individual has a sponsored employer, there should be no requirement for them to exit the country,” Mr Tudge said.
Mr Gandolfo wants the certainty permanent residence would bring for his family. “I wanted to find a place where we can settle, where we can give our daughter a future,” he said.