‘Welcome to Australia’: FIFO worker robbed of everything he owns days after visa approval

He came to WA to work, experience our lifestyle and potentially find himself a new permanent home, but Alex Jeffery is now put off the idea after his ute was stolen and trashed days after he received his permanent residency last month.

The 28-year-old chippie from the UK arrived in WA from over east a year ago, driving here with his ute loaded up with camping gear, a dirt bike, his surfboards and everything else he owns from clothes to personal items.

He got a fly-in, fly-out job and in between swings has been travelling throughout the state, camping in his fully equipped vehicle, checking out the best surf spots and generally living and loving the laid back outdoor lifestyle.

But that all came to a grinding halt when he received a phone call from police during one of his work stints in early February.

“They just called me and said they had found my car and it had been stolen,” Jeffery said.

“It took me a minute to understand what they were saying cos I was like, what do you mean? I left it at the airport.”

Jeffery parked his car in one of the car parks at Perth airport as usual for his shift, with everything inside, thinking it would be safe. All he had on him were a few items and some clothes.

Police said his Nissan Patrol was stolen just after midnight on February 5 from the long-term parking before police noticed it allegedly being driven “in a reckless manner” about 25 minutes later.

In a statement to WAtoday a WA Police spokesperson said officers tried to stop the vehicle before “an evade incident occurred”.

“The stolen vehicle travelled through several suburbs before becoming stuck in bushland off Buninyong Road in Greenmount,” they said.

A 33-year-old man from Stirling was arrested at the scene.

To make matters worse, during the alleged theft, the canopy on his ute was open and his belongings were flying out and onto the road as police were allegedly trying to stop the driver.

All this just three days after Jeffery had been approved to receive his permanent residency visa, meaning he could stay in the country indefinitely.

“I love it here, I love the lifestyle and I thought I would try and make a life for myself here,” he said.

“I got my residency through which allows me to stay, and I was celebrating, I was so excited. Then this happened and it’s just put a dampener on things.”

Jeffery was forced to stay with friends while police forensics kept his car for analysis.

The alleged thief was remanded in custody and charged with steal a motor vehicle and drive recklessly, driver of a vehicle failed to comply with a direction to stop, reckless driving to escape pursuit by police, no authority to drive and possession of a prohibited drug.

He will be appearing before Armadale Magistrates Court this week.

In 2025, car thefts were at their lowest since they began being recorded in 2016, but last year, 26 cars were stolen from Perth Airport according to WA Police’s recently released crime stats.

In 2024, that figure stood at 40.

For Jeffery, the incident has made him rethink his plans.

“I was planning to stay, but it’s made me think twice about it,” he said.

A Perth Airport spokesman said safety and security were a priority at Perth Airport.

“Perth Airport’s car parks are monitored by CCTV, with 24/7 patrols conducted by our ground transport team across the estate,” he said.

“Car parks are also fully fenced and protected by physical security measures, including bollards and boom gate barriers.”