Anthony Albanese to allow 19,000 refugees to stay permanently in Australia after they arrived illegally by boat
- The government will grant permanent residency to 19,000 refugees in Australia
- It applies to refugees on temporary visas who arrived in the country before 2014
- These refugees will now be able to apply for social security and travel overseas
The Albanese government will allow 19,000 refugees on temporary visas to permanently stay in Australia from early 2023.
The decision applies to asylum seekers who arrived by boat before 2014 and have spent the last decade in limbo on a temporary protection visa (TPVs) or safe haven enterprise visa (SHEVs).
Refugees who are granted permanent residency will be able to reunite with their family, can travel out of the country, have the option to apply for Centrelink and apply for visas for family members overseas.
Anthony Albanese will roll out a plan early next year to grant permanent residency for 19,000 refugees on temporary visas
The Prime Minister had committed to abolishing temporary protection visas in the lead up to this year’s federal election.
These visas are given to asylum seekers who arrive in the country and are in need of protection.
The visas last for up to three years and permit refugees to work and access Medicare.
However, if a person who holds this visa travels overseas their visa could be cancelled and they may not be able to return to Australia.
It’s estimated that around 31,000 people in the country hold temporary visas including TPVs and SHEVs.
The Refugee Council has expressed concern over the remaining 12,000 refugees who remain on bridging visas and have called on the government to quicken the process to move those refugees to permanent residency.
TPVs were introduced in 1999 and were scrapped by the Rudd government in 2008. The Coalition government brought TPVs back in 2013.
Federal Immigration minister Andrew Giles reiterated Labor’s pledge to scrap them back in October.
‘The Albanese Labor Government has made a commitment to transition those who have been found to be owed our protection on temporary protection visas to permanent protection,’ he wrote on Twitter.
‘We will keep this promise and meet our commitment.’
It’s estimated about 31,000 people in the country currently hold temporary visas
Federal immigration minister Andrew Giles reiterated the government’s pledge to scrap temporary protection visas in October (pictured L-R, Mr Giles with fellow Labor politicians Lily D’Ambrosio and Jasvinder Sidhu)
Mr Giles explained in parliament last month that the government was working on clearing the backlog of refugees that he blamed the former Coalition government for creating.
‘Because of the failures of the previous government, there were almost a million visa applications waiting to be processed,’ he said.
‘The members opposite might want to think about the terrible impact on small business of this backlog but they should also think about the impact on our society as a multicultural nation.’