Temporary protection visas could be blocked by 'unworkable' deadline
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Version 0 of 1. The immigration department is threatening to block temporary visa applications if asylum seekers fail to meet a deadline that legal groups say is unworkable. In May the department began allowing asylum seekers living in Australia who have not yet been processed to apply for temporary protection visas. But the process has already become mired in uncertainty, and serious problems have emerged surrounding the department’s application processes. The department is “inviting” groups of asylum seekers to apply for visas for just 28 days. But as part of the process they need access to personal documents held by the department. These documents include screening assessments and other information necessary for their claim. Applicants must apply for these documents under freedom of information laws. This process can take 30 days, but the department is requesting extensions of up to 60 days. Despite this deadline, the department is only granting 14-day extensions to apply for visas. Claims that fail to meet the 14-day extension may be denied. In correspondence to an asylum seeker who applied for an extension, a department officer wrote: “It is extremely important that you make every effort to lodge your application within the 28 days provided in your invitation to apply for a TPV. “Any work rights attached to your bridging visa (BVE) have been granted to allow you to work while your protection claims are assessed. Furthermore, you agreed, as per the Code of Behaviour to co-operate with all reasonable requests from the department and this includes applying for a protection visa to resolve your immigration status. “Where the department is not satisfied that you are engaged in this process, the minister may be minded to exercise his power … to revoke his determination to lift the bar and this decision could be made at any time.” In a highly unusual move, the department has also been advising asylum seekers they will not be processing their freedom of information requests for documents until they are invited to apply for a visa. “The department’s records indicate that the visa application bar has not yet been lifted in your case and that you have not yet been sent an invitation to apply. As there are many people to process, we need to prioritise requests from people who have been invited to apply,” the letter obtained by Guardian Australia said. “We are therefore returning your request for documents. Applicants need to wait until it is their turn to apply for a protection visa.” Katie Wrigley, principal solicitor at the Refugee Advice and Casework Service, said it was an extraordinary move by the immigration department. “People have a right to access personal information held by the department under FOI laws. “Providing information to people as soon as possible is in the department’s interest. The information is needed so their applications can be complete and accurate.” “At the moment people don’t know when they will be granted permission to apply. It’s pretty hard for asylum seekers to understand what is being returned to them, and to expect them to keep their documents in a safe place until it’s their turn to apply.” “It’s unprecedented in my experience. It seems to suggest that these people shouldn’t be afforded the same rights as other Australians.” Under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 anyone is eligible to request personal information held by a government agency about them. There is no lawful mechanism for an agency to refuse return applications to applicants without engaging in the formal legal process. |