Conway Dean – Permanent Residence at 60 Years Old Against All Odds

Conway Dean was an extraordinary case. At 60 years of age, he achieved what seemed impossible by obtaining Australian permanent residence.

Conway Dean arrived in regional Western Australia from Wales with his wife and daughter in 2006. A welder by trade, Conway was issued a Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457). In 2008 at the age of 49, Conway applied for permanent residence. Administrative delays in the Department of Home Affairs meant that Conway's application didn't find its way to the front of the processing queue until he was 50 years of age making him ineligible for permanent residence based on his age. He was advised that he could continue to apply for a subclass 457 visa which would allow him to stay in Australia temporarily on an ongoing basis.

Issues with his visa renewal in 2015 put him in Visa Solutions' path and they were able to rectify matters for him. By this stage, Conway had resigned himself to the fact that he may not get permanent residence in Australia until he retired and could potentially apply through a retirement stream.

In 2020 when Covid-19 threw the world into chaos, it offered Conway a lifeline. After the 2022 federal election, the Labor Government declared that anyone who worked throughout the pandemic on a subclass 457 visa would be able to apply for permanent residence with all restrictions lifted, including age which had prevented Conway from obtaining permanent residence in the first place. Prompted by VSA to take this once in a lifetime opportunity, he set about applying for his permanent residence with assistance from Visa Solutions.

In 2023 at the age of 60, Conway got the call from Visa Solutions stating that his permanent residence had been approved. A moment that changed Conway and his family's life.