The federal government is facing growing pressure to make temporary changes to its family visa program to allow applicants to remain onshore to have their applications granted.
In November, the government made temporary concessions for some partner visa applicants, but some families remain frustrated.
For Melbourne-based couple Can Liu and Julie Jin, the city's coronavirus lockdown allowed them to spend more time with Can's parents. His parents, from China, have been in Australia since May last year and are applying for a contributory parent visa.
But the pair are worried about the federal government's requirements for 143 visa applicants .
“My in-laws have applied for a parent visa for six-and-a-half years and they're in the final stage of the application,” Julie told SBS News.
“Currently they've been notified by the immigration department to leave the country within two months, otherwise their application can be rejected.”
She said the pair have paid almost $100,000 for the application - not including thousands of extra dollars on a round trip from China back to Australia.
“Traditionally it is very easy for people to take just a two to three-day holiday in Bali and then [get a visa],” Julie said. “But at the moment, it's difficult. They have to leave to be able to have permanency to re-enter into Australia.”
In addition to having to quarantine upon their return, Julie says her in-laws also risk getting stuck overseas should the pandemic shut more borders or cancel more flights.
As full-time working parents, Can and Julie say they need all the help they can get. They also say it’s important for their young daughter to get to know her grandparents.
Can said he was “quite concerned” about his parents leaving during the pandemic.
“There are limited flights back to Australia, and I have heard a lot of stories about people's flights being cancelled and being stuck in another country.”
Can worries that if his parents are made to fly out of Australia, they may not be able to get back in. Source: SBS News
'Madness'
Labor MP Julian Hill said he thinks the rules need to be changed.
“Forcing families to fly overseas in the middle of a pandemic and then come back and quarantine to get their visa granted is madness,” he told SBS News.
“The minister could fix this with a stroke of his pen and he should act immediately. Right before Christmas, there are thousands of Australian families terrified that their elderly parents are going to be forced to leave the country, pay for expensive flights, risk being stranded and waste a quarantine spot coming home.
"They should just give them the visa.”
Julie said it feels like her family is being “pulled apart” for “no obvious reason”.
Labor MP Julian Hill says the requirements should be changed. Source: SBS News
“Parents are a very important part of our culture and in a lot of immigrants' cultures,” she said.
“I would like the government to look after people who are vulnerable during the pandemic and to look after people who are going to be part of our community.”
Last month, the federal government made temporary concessions for some partner visa applicants by removing the requirement to fly out of Australia.
“I'm hoping that they will extend [it] to parents, because for us in our culture, parents are also an important part of our family,” Julie said.
In a statement, a spokesperson from the Department of Home Affairs said the government was “taking disruptions arising from the pandemic into account” when considering visa applications.
“Visa applicants are being given additional time to complete the necessary requirements, including any current requirement to be offshore at the time of visa grant,” they said.
The department has "not generally" been asking visa applicants to travel outside Australia to meet the criteria for visa grants, though there may be individual cases where applicants were asked to travel offshore in early 2020 prior to the onset of the pandemic, they added.
The spokesperson said parent visa applicants were not included in the government’s temporary concessions as applicants .
“Immediate family members include a spouse, a de-facto partner, a dependent child and a legal guardian,” they said.
