Melbourne milk bar owner and teenage son face being deported back to China over $300,000 visa issue
Exclusive: Cindy Ding waits patiently behind the counter during a mid-morning lull at her modest corner store in Melbourne’s north-east.
While business has been slow lately, Macleod Milk Bar is Ding’s pride and joy.
Cindy Ding has owned Macleod Milk Bar since 2018. April Glover
But the Chinese-born milk bar owner feels as though she has “failed”.
Single mum Ding and her 17-year-old son Jerry face being deported to China due to a seemingly impossible revenue requirement to qualify for permanent residency under a business visa.
“I came here for more freedom and for my son’s better future,” Ding told nine.com.au.
“We have really enjoyed our life here. My son is in year 11, and next year is VCE exams, and it’s critical for him.
“I want him to stay longer to achieve his goals. And I just think the community needs this shop. I need this shop as well. ”
Ding, 48, and Jerry, then aged seven, moved from China to Melbourne in 2017 on a Business Innovation Stream 188A Visa.
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The following year, Ding opened up a milk bar on Aberdeen Road in Macleod Shopping Village, a strip of shops located near a school and two aged care homes.
The nostalgic charm of a 1950s-style milk bar earned Ding a band of loyal customers, many of whom now just pop in to say hello.
Then COVID-19 hit, bringing her revenue to a screeching halt.
“Nobody was around, but I still opened every day,” Ding said.
“But I just lost so many customers.”
Ding’s first year of business was a success. Then COVID-19 struck and devastated her sales. April Glover
When it came time for Ding to apply for permanent residency for herself and Jerry, they hit a roadblock.
To qualify for permanent residency (subclass 888) in Australia after being approved for a subclass 188A visa, a business owner must have had an annual turnover of at least $300,000 in the 12 months immediately before applying.
Crucially, the 12-month period before Ding applied was during the 2019-20 financial year, just as COVID lockdowns hit.
She hoped the government would consider the toll that pandemic took on her sales.
“I tried very hard, but I couldn’t meet the requirement of the immigration law,” Ding said.
“Even now, it’s impossible. Not just me... because a lot of businesses are struggling.”
After a three-and-a-half year wait, Ding and her son’s visas were denied in July 2024.
She immediately appealed that decision with Administrative Review Tribunal (ART).
For the past two years, the family lived in limbo as they awaited the ruling.
“During that time, milk bars shut down everywhere. I don’t want that happen,” she said.
“I have to invest more money, but I can’t scale [the business] without the promise of a future.”
On October 23, their appeal was denied.
The family faces with two options, both of which could see Ding lose her business.
Ding and her son face being deported back to China if their visa appeal is not a success. April Glover
She can either take her appeal to the Federal Court of Australia, which could come at a huge financial cost, or apply for an onshore partner visa through her partner Trevor.
“But I [might] have to go back to China. Then I have to shut the shop... and then we still have to wait. And you don’t know how long,” she said.
“And why would I spend that money then to get the same answer?
“I’d rather spend that money in the shop to make it survive longer.”
Ding is struggling under the weight of her situation.
She is desperate to keep her son in school in Melbourne and to keep serving her community.
“I will never recover from that fail feeling,” Ding said tearfully.
“I feel like I’m not fighting for myself. And a lot of time, I don’t think this milk bar just means a visa for me.
“It means a lot, and I’m not doing that just for visa.”
Ding and members of her local community have called on Immigration Minister Tony Burke to intervene and consider the compelling circumstances of her business’ inability to meet the visa requirement.
About 700 residents have signed an in-store paper petition asking the government to help Ding and her son.
“They are a very, very supportive, very beautiful community,” Ding added.
Nine.com.au has contacted the Department of Home Affairs for comment.
Australia has some of the most complex immigration laws and requirements in the world.
A note on the door of Macleod Milk Bar informing customers that the shop is at risk of closure. April Glover
The visa Ding used to arrive in Australia is no longer offered to after it was phased out in July 2024.
Ding still needs to meet the original stream requirements, however, to transition to the subclass 888 visa, which is the permanent residency stage of Australia’s Business Innovation and Investment Program.
The small business owner said she understands why immigration laws need to be upheld.
She questioned, however, why the annual turnover threshold for her visa has not been amended to reflect the financial destruction of COVID-19 and the recent economic pain inflicted on businesses.
Even if she applied for the visa today, Ding said the cost of living crisis, repeated interest rate rises and added pressure from a nearby Woolworths has depleted revenue to below the minimum required amount.
“It just makes it harder and harder,” Ding said.
“But I still never give up hope.”
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