Highlights
- Australia removes 'fly out, fly in' rule for offshore certain family visa applicants
- Partner visa applicants no longer will not be required to leave the country to get their visa grants
- The new arrangements will come into effect early 2021
Select family visa applicants who have lodged visas offshore will no longer have to dash overseas to receive their visa grants, as part of the Morrison Government’s new changes to support the migrant community, which will come into effect early next year.
The new arrangements will enable applicants to continue their visa pathway despite their inability to travel offshore in the wake of the current international border restrictions, temporarily suspending the visa regulation that has been branded “archaic and arbitrary” by the Opposition and the couples awaiting their grants.
Announcing the changes, Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge today said these “common sense” temporary visa concessions will benefit about 4,000 applicants currently in Australia, predominately those who have applied for offshore partner visas (Subclass 309/100).
Importantly, this will allow a foreign national who is a partner of an Australian citizen to progress their visa, without having to leave the country – Alan Tudge
“I know this will be a relief to those Australians who were concerned that their loved one may have to leave the country with no certainty as to when they could return,” he said.
Swapnil and Monika Source: Supplied
Speaking to SBS Punjabi, Melbourne-based Mr Patel who has been waiting for his wife’s visa grant since June 2019 said he is “utterly relieved” but would like to urge the government to make the change permanent.
“It is a huge relief because it would have been near impossible to send Monica to travel anywhere overseas given the health risk and her ongoing pregnancy.
“But I would have been happier if the government had made this a permanent change so that citizens and permanent residents could save time and money,” said the 33-year-old.
The changes will also apply to the applications lodged by Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa, Child (subclass 101) visa, Adoption (subclass 102) visa and Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa applicants.
The federal government has announced visa rule concessions. Source: AAP
Changes will come into effect early 2021:
Melbourne-based migration agent Navjot Kailay has been leading the public campaign for revocation of the ‘fly out, fly in’ rule that at present requires the applicants who have lodged the $7,000-plus offshore partner visa to travel offshore at the time of receiving their grants.
Speaking to SBS Punjabi, Mr Kailay said while the changes are quite significant, applicants must be aware that these concessions will only be implemented next year.
“All those applicants who have already received email notifications from the Department of Home Affairs instructing them to leave the country must write to the Department about their situation and seek an extension to stay in the country as the new arrangements have not come into effect just yet,” he said.
As per the Home Affairs data, applicants from India emerged as the top source for offshore partner visa lodgements in 2019-2020. But a majority, like Harkamal Kaur, are currently stranded outside the country as they wait for visa approval, which is taking an average of two years to get processed.
“We applied for an offshore partner visa in June 2019 and our file has still not opened. My husband is in Sydney while I am living here in India despite being married for over two years now," said the 27-year-old Ms Kaur.
“My entire life is on a standstill and only made worse by the COVID-induced restrictions I wish the government could do something for the likes of us as well who are currently outside the country.”
'Changes are too little too late for thousands of Australian-Indian couples'
Labor MP Julian Hill who introduced a Private Members’ Bill into the House of Representatives earlier today calling for this change said the Morrison Government needs to act now to fix this “mess” and not sometime next year.
“The Government could simply vote for my Bill this week. Or the Acting Minister can simply do his job and amend the migrations regulations today with a stroke of his pen, giving Australians and their partners' certainty,” he said.
Mr Hill said the visa concessions were “too little and too late” particularly for Australians married to partners of Indian heritage.
Labor MP Julian Hill. Source: Labor MP Julian Hill
“Some of the most common and worrying cases are for couples where the partner is from India as the Minister’s failure to act is forcing Australians of Indian heritage to fly back to a country which recently recorded over 9 million COVID cases,” he said in a press release.
These changes are in addition to the federal government's decision to nearly double the number of partner visa places in the current program year. It is expected that three-quarters of these visas will go to those already onshore.
Click on the player above to listen to the interview in Punjabi.
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