A YEAR after her win, Filipina "X Factor" champion Rose Fostanes may be deported from Israel.
In an article in Israeli news website Haaretz.com, it said that Fostanes' talent management agency Aroma Music has failed to secure proper work documentation and that the company withdrew its visa request two weeks ago.
This leaves Fostanes without legal work papers in Israel.
A representative of Aroma Music also confirmed that the singer's work visa expired a month ago.
The news report added that the company cannot request another artist visa for the singer after Fostanes failed to boost the company's income.
Aroma Music also reportedly said they do not believe that Fostanes could make a living from music alone and that they cannot extend financial sponsorship to the singer.
"Rose is a very talented singer and we would have been happy to see her musical career take off in Israel too. As a record company, we tried to develop a big career for her in Israel and abroad, but it takes years to build a career, with hard work and patience," said Michal Weissber of Aroma Music.
Amid this negative development in Fostanes' singing career, Aroma Music said they already asked Israel's Interior Minister Silvan Shalom to grant her a temporary resident visa.
"We are hopeful that a solution will be found to obtain an alternative visa that will enable her to make a living from other jobs as well," the company said.
Fostanes, who has a 20-year experience of working in the Middle East, tried her luck in 2010 to work as a caregiver in Israel.
In 2013, she joined "The X Factor," a talent music competition franchise created and distributed by music and television producer Simon Cowell.
The 48-year-old wowed the local audience after she sung her own rendition of Shirley Bassey's "This is My Life". She was named grand champion in January 2014.
"I'm disappointed. I thought my dream would really come true and I'd have a music career," Fostanes told Haaretz.
Fostanes regretted not doing small shows, which she used to do before.
"I won the show and I was told not to keep performing with them, because they told me a respectable singer wouldn't sing in those kinds of little clubs. That it's not appropriate. So I really stopped. Now I kind of regret it. I think I might have been better off altogether if I hadn't won the show and would have continued working as a caregiver," she said.
The singer is hopeful that the Israeli authorities would hear her sentiments or she could obtain an artist visa through a new manager who would give her regular salary.
"I'm ready to do whatever it takes. I know I'm not that beautiful and I know that I'm not the typical singer that everyone's looking for, but I believe that if I'm just given the opportunity, I'll prove that I can succeed," Fostanes said. (Sunnex)