Nepalese visa workers Shiva and Ganga Adhikari have gone from full time work to having no income in a matter of weeks because of the coronavirus.
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Shiva and his wife were working at Federal Group's Saffire Hotel at Coles Bay until March 29 when coronavirus caused the closure of Federal operations.
They are presently living in accommodation provided by Federal Group-which has about 110 visa workers on its books.
Unlike some 1500 of their fellow Federal workers the pair are not eligible for the $1500 a fortnight JobKeeper payment from the Federal Government.
Rather Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Minister Alan Tudge has suggested that they go back to their native country.
"Temporary visa holders who are unable to support themselves under these arrangements over the next six months are strongly encouraged to return home," he said.
Mr Tudge has suggested that visa holders can access up to $10,000 of their superannuation.
Shiva is a housekeeper supervisor and his wife a housekeeping room attendant.
"We were sponsored for 489 working visas by the Tasmanian Government and have been at Saffire for 18 months," he said.
"We both had full time jobs and all of a sudden it has all finished."
"There are no other jobs and we have only small savings to survive on."
Both feel that Tasmania is home now and their long term hope is to get permanent residency.
"It is really hard because the situation of full of uncertainty," Shiva said.
A travel ban means they cannot return to Nepal where their incomes help to support Shiva's son and parents.
"I sometimes get emotional but I need to console my wife," he says.
He said the pair had worked hard and contributed during their time in Austrralia,
"I spent $60,000 on studying my masters in professional accounting and business administration in Melbourne so cannot afford to go home," he said.
Federal Group spokesman Daniel Hanna said:"We urge the Government to recognise the contribution of visa workers like Shiva and Ganga, who should also be provided with safeguards during this challenging time."
"Businesses will need these workers in the future and we will continue to support our team members experiencing hardship.
"We've been undertaking a significant process to identify & support vulnerable staff who have been impacted by the forced closure of our businesses.
"We are providing a range of support based on individual circumstances. In some cases this has included assistance to access services, or the provision of food boxes and in some cases accommodation."
Dr Hanna said Federal had committed to immediately passing on the Jobkeeper payment to as many staff as possible.
Legislation for the $130 billion Jobkeeper package passed federal parliament on Wednesday with payments die to arrive in bank accounts in late April.