Permanent residency extended to temporary protection visa holders, but thousands still left in limbo after a decade
The Albanese Government’s announcement that it will provide a pathway to permanent residency for people on temporary protection visas offers hope at last to thousands of people who have built lives in Australia but have been held back by punitive visa rules. Critically however, the announcement fails to address the situation facing some 12,000 people, some of whom know no other home, who were rejected by the unfair process established by the previous Coalition government.
Under the changes, people who were previously granted temporary protection visas (including Safe Haven Enterprise visas) will soon be able to apply for permanent residency.
However, people refused under the so-called ‘fast track process’ – established in 2014 to rubber stamp thousands of decisions to refuse refugee status – will remain unprotected. These people will be forced to make individual pleas to the Minister who will determine on a case-by-case basis whether to allow them to apply for permanent residency. For the 12,000 people in this group – all of whom have now been in Australia for a decade – the uncertainty continues.
Rohullah Hussaini, a temporary protection visa-holder who has lived in Swan Hill, Victoria since 2012 and is prevented from reuniting with his wife and daughter because of his temporary visa status, said:
“People need to understand that temporary protection means kids growing up without one of their parents. I can’t wait to finally be able to live in peace with my wife and my daughter.”
Sanmati Verma, Managing Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre said:
“In announcing a pathway to permanency for people who hold temporary protection visas, Minister Giles rightly acknowledged that it makes no sense to keep people in limbo. He acknowledged that people who have been in the Australian community for a decade deserve to be recognised as part of it.
“But the lives of people who have been rejected through the fast-track system are just as real as anyone else’s. To require those 12,000 people to wait for an indefinite period and rely on the Minister’s personal mercy in order to plan for a future is not only cruel: it is contrary to the very purpose of the government’s announcement.”
Aran Mylvaganam, Founder of the Tamil Refugee Council said:
“People who have been refused through the broken ‘fast-track’ system are some of the most vulnerable in the community. For a decade, they have battled through a flawed visa process and waited for a chance to plan for a future. In the meantime, they have built lives, made families – children born in Australia have turned ten and become citizens. It is time to put an end to divide-and-rule politics. Everyone deserves a single solution – a permanent home in Australia.”
Read Rohullah Hussaini's submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee's Inquiry into family reunion here.
Media Contact: Thomas Feng, Media and Communications Manager, Human Rights Law Centre, 0431 285 275, thomas.feng@hrlc.org.au