Abdulhakeem Muse-Ariyoh, or better known as Abkool to those in UTS housing, is a 22-year-old Nigerian International student who arrived in Australian initially on a six month student visa to study a Graduate Certificate in Engineering management.
Abkool comes from a well-travelled family. Both of his siblings are currently studying in the UK while his parents frequently travel to different countries for their own jobs. He travelled to Ghana for his tertiary studies where he completed a Bachelor in Electrical Electronics Engineering.
He decided to study in Australia because he was told Australia has a very good educational standard and the people are nice.
His student experience was great enough for him to want to stay on and study a longer course. He says "Everyone is friendly, the rooms are there for you to study and have fun. UTS Housing is the best place to be."
Consequently, six months in Australia went by in a blur; he competed in soccer tournaments for UTS housing, attended university parties and managed the heavy study load of an engineering student. Soccer has always been his favourite sport. He has brought this love with him from the streets of his home in Nigeria, to the fields in Ghana and now to the sports halls of UTS.
Abkool decided to enrol for a double degree and consequently had to extend his visa. However, unknown to him he due to a no-further stay condition (8503) on his initial visa and he could not extend his stay in Australia.
When he tried to extend his visa, he was told he had an invalid application. He was at a loss and says "I didn't understand, why I would have an invalid application?"
He spoke with immigration and was told he hadn't certified his documents. He had to wait a week for his parent to return to Nigeria from their work in Dubai so they could send his original documents to Australia. Once this was corrected, he re-applied for his extension but to his surprise was once again told he had an invalid application.
Abkool was told he had to travel overseas in order to extend his Australian visa and says
"It was a very quick decision. I had to leave."
During his stay at UTS, Abkool had formed plans for his future in Australia. He had applied for credit recognition from his first graduate course so that his double degree in the master's course would not take as long. Also he planned to apply for a part time job in November once the holiday season began and the university workload stopped.
Yet these goals have been temporarily abandoned as he had no choice but to return home and says "Yes I'm really disappointed. Very disappointed. I'm actually just putting a smile to hide my hard feelings. Seriously yes. It is really difficult. I don't have a choice."
Akbool has now deferred from his double degree masters course, made appointments with immigration and spoke with the UTS international department. Despite his misfortunes, he feels positive towards his success when he re-applies.
"Well it should be easy. I have my own papers and I am applying from my own country."
The only thing he regrets is his own ignorance towards the conditions of the visa. If he had understood his visa conditions he could have made more convenient arrangements.
"I would have applied for them to remove the condition, before going to apply. But I knew all this too late."
When Abkool was asked about his thoughts and experiences in Australia he eagerly replied:
"I like it here. Here is no problem. I really want to contribute to the greatness of this country sometime soon. I hope I can. Really nice here."
Currently Abkool is overseas waiting for the grant of his student visa and cannot know for sure if he will be allowed to return.
