multicultural Hot Words

Temporary protection visa...

Definition

Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) are issued to recognised asylum seekers who entered Australia without a valid visa after October 1999. TPVs are valid for three years, following which time the individual is required to re-prove the validity of their refugee status.

Introduction of TPVs was a change from previous practice. From 1994 until October 1999, all proven refugees assessed by the Australian Government were issued with a permanent protection visa. This included boat people and other “unauthorised” arrivals who initially arrived without valid visas.

People granted TPVs are not allowed to re-renter Australia should they choose to leave, and their family members living in other countries are not allowed to visit or join them here. They are barred from accessing the Job Network and funded English programs. They have limited access to health, education and community services.

What makes it hot?

Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) is a hot term when considered to be a disincentive designed for asylum seekers who arrive in Australia without a valid visa. Distress is caused to TPV holders by the restrictive conditions under which they have to live, the inability to reunite with their family, uncertainty of their future status and the potential threat of being deported to a country in which their safety is at risk.

Since the TPVs were introduced, the great majority of people who arrived in Australia without valid visas and claimed asylum have been recognised as refugees. Nevertheless they are only offered three years of protection here.

Australia is the only developed country to offer limited temporary protection for people found to be proven refugees. Australia is also the only developed country that requires proven refugees to reprove their claim and face deportation if they can’t. According to the Australian Government, the Temporary Protection Visa meets its obligations under the International Protocol on Refugees, while preventing the permanent settlement of those seeking refuge.

Date Added:

10 March 2002