James Gay


Name: Jamie Gay

Occupation: Year coordinator/high school maths teacher

Country of origin: England

Location: Dubbo

Here with: partner, has cousins in Sydney

Length of time in region: since April 2017

It was a love story in the sky for British school teacher Jamie Gay who found romance on a flight.

“I met my partner on a plane and she lived in Dubbo,” he explained.

Mr Gay feels so at home in Australia that he says ‘I feel like I have been here my whole life.’

Making the move in 2017 with his partner, who is originally from New Zealand, couldn’t have been simpler.

“It has been very easy. I joined a soccer club to make friends and everyone has been very welcoming.”

Mr Gay came to Australia from York in the UK on a 489 regional sponsored visa. He now works at St John’s College, Dubbo where he is a year coordinator and mathematics teacher.  He has a Masters in modern history and his interests include going to the gym, rugby league and music. Since moving to the Orana, he has joined the MUFC soccer club, F45 training and Crossfit Dubbo. 

“I found it very easy to find work as a maths teacher. I had offers from multiple employers before I accepted this role.”

After almost two years, Mr Gay said the best moment was finally receiving the email which confirmed that his visa had been granted.

The amount of paperwork required was the worst aspect of the process but Mr Gay said that RDA Orana were really helpful in that regard.

His advice to other migrants is to ‘be patient, make sure you cross any t's twice.’

He also said that a form checking service would be beneficial along with employer support.

Mr Gay has plans to stay in the region in the medium-term.

“My partner and I have just bought a house.”