When Chase Arnesen decided to migrate to Australia from Singapore in 2019, he was looking forward to living in a freer and more open society, even if it meant higher taxes. After nearly two years of experiencing the country’s extreme pandemic restrictions, the 32-year-old lawyer is on the verge of packing up and leaving.
Since Australia slammed its borders shut in March 2020, Chase, who is a Canadian citizen, has been unable to leave the country if he hopes to return, leaving him separated from friends and family with seemingly no end in sight.
“A life torn across borders is hell,” Arnesen, who came to Australia under a four-year work visa that offers a pathway to permanent residency, told Al Jazeera.
“Simply ‘leaving’ doesn’t just mean giving up my career and home here that I’ve built, but my partner and friends here. Yet staying means indefinite separation from family. I can’t justify not seeing my own parents as they age and nieces and nephews, some of whom I haven’t seen for half their lives. My life is ripped in half and it feels indefinitely…
