The snap decision of the Department of Home Affairs to terminate temporary humanitarian stay visas in less than eight days has created an impossible race against time for thousands of Ukrainians attempting to reach Australia. Getting to a plane, let alone on a plane, is a financial and logistical luxury that many Ukrainians fleeing the war cannot afford.
Australian-based Ukrainian Julia Semeniuk says that the looming July 14 deadline is barely enough time to land a flight from Europe to Australia, and that’s after making it out of Ukraine.
“For them to get from one side of Ukraine to the other, can take a week. It is near impossible to get them out of the country to meet the deadline, let alone to Australia,” she said.
Add to that slim pickings and exorbitant prices, and Semeniuk anticipates huge numbers of Ukrainians unable to reconnect with family. “If you look at a booking site and try and find flights from Europe it’s very hard because it’s school holidays — they’re super expensive,” she said. “$3000 one way and that’s just not affordable for most people.”
Under the Morrison government, Ukrainians already in Australia or set to travel to Australia were promised temporary humanitarian visas. The two-step process (449 visa followed by 786 visa) allows recipients to stay in the country for up to three years.
According to a spokesperson from the Department of Home Affairs, over 8000 predominantly temporary visas have been issued to Ukrainians forced to flee Russia’s military invasion, but less than half have been taken up. Of the Ukrainians who have entered Australia since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 23, more than 3700 have been granted a subclass 449 visa, while 1767 have progressed to phase two and received a 786 visa.
Stefan Romaniw, co-chair of The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, told Crikey the organisation has been in contact with Immigration Minister Andrew Giles about reconsidering and resolving the July 14 cut-off. While pressure mounts on the government to extend humanitarian visas for Ukrainians, and match the rhetoric from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in his recent trip to Ukraine, Romaniw and those in the Ukrainian community are understanding that the system ultimately has its limits.
“There’s a war. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. Australia may need to offer more, not less, places. But at a point in time, we understand that government has got to make some realistic decisions,” Romaniw said.
While Semeniuk agrees that governments cannot provide open-ended visas, she would like to see the government reconsider the hard cut-off to avoid closing the door on the reunification of Ukrainian families already in Australia. Any Ukrainian refugee in Australia who leaves the country will relinquish their temporary protection visa here and won’t be recognised as a refugee elsewhere. This is a problem for split up families.
“The families that came to Australia are mostly just women and children — there are no men,” she said. “The men are back in Ukraine. If they can leave Ukraine, they won’t make it here in time so how will they unite with their family?”
Men in Ukraine are not permitted to leave during the war, so family reunion is not common.
Ukrainians need help. I wonder if there is an element of preference for northern Europeans. The people of Afghanistan need help. especially educated women, where Australia promised to stay and we have a special responsibility. Our priorities for humanitarian and refugee intake should consider our particular responsibilities, including in our region, and consider those in most need. We should also look for migrants from conflict zones to fill skill gaps.
There would be much more room for a fair refugee and humanitarian intake if we assessed all applicants equally. Currently air arrivals who then claim asylum can stay in the community while their case is heard – we did not decide they should come but they are treated differently to boat people. This gives an advantage for the wealthy over, say, someone in a refugee camp in Turkey or Africa.
Time for more compassion, logic and transparency.
Whilst we should help Ukrainians with family in Australia, I would have thought our priority should be those whom we have a greater responsibility to help ie Afghans who have fewer avenues for help than Ukrainians, and whose current plight was partly brought about by us – unless we are prepared to open our arms to all.
Stock in trade mean spiritedness from the LNP. They took nearly two years to issue visas to Syrian refugees and did not issue visas to Afghan subcontractors employed by the ADF.
‘Tony’ the LNP have always been good at the big announcements and putting others in harms way but when it comes to ‘ footing’ the Bill they are always laggards
It strikes me that Australia should not be giving military armaments aid to the Ukraine. rather, that aid should be for humanitarian causes there only. There is enough military hardware around NATO (and in particular the US) to more than supply the need. The Australian government, which is once again slavishly following the US, needs to give consideration to the long-term ramifications of military aid and the sort of bastardly that Russia might be capable of inflicting on Australia in retaliation. If anyone believes that the Russians are incapable and are not aware of this minor amount of Australian military assistance they need think again and if they think that the amount we are giving is of any consequence (apart from allowing a lot of bluster and photographs for the likes of Albanese and Marles and Morrison and Dutton) then they are hiding themselves. Australia’s foreign policy should be left to Penny Wong who is not prone to the ‘quick fix’
This is heartbreakingly difficult. Albanese was clearly shaken by what he saw in Ukraine. He was specifically asked for military equipment by President Zelensky. It is not a case of ‘following the US’ but responding with assistance to a request from a nation against which Russia is committing war crimes. .
Simply, Australia needs to give humanitarian aid in addition to the requested military equipment and will do so in all probability. I am more than fed up with the Murdoch Press and the gross LNP blaming Albanese for the huge mess he has inherited, to which has now been added the need to give humanitarian aid to 50,000 plus flood victims here. Take a Reality Check.
So if the criteria for assisting ‘Merrilyn’ is ‘war crimes’ or ‘crimes against humanity’ – why are we not in Myanmar and preparing to go back in to Afghanistan? I do believe I mentioned the former government as well as the current one ‘Merrilyn’
Yes Terry, Agree, all the humanitarian support we can offer but not murdering equipment. Why are people so obsessed with killing others. Do we ever learn?
So we shouldn’t help out Ukraine in case we annoy Putin and he smacks us? If every country on Earth acted in that principle, we’d be ruled by both Russia and China.
Just about every country on earth does act on that principle ‘Frank’ particularly the US in the case of Ukraine – if not why are NATO troops not in there? In addition, if you read the article about Taiwan and the US in this edition you will see that the US is going to fight a proxy way there as well as in the Ukraine
‘proxy war’
Or ‘poxy‘?
It’s the way of war.
You are being childlish silly with such comments. If you feel so strongly then you go.
Agree. Nothing to do with us. I will give a toss about Ukraine when the West sanctions the UK, EU and the US for all its illegal wars. I will be waiting a long time as those wars weren’t in white, European countries. Still suffering on a much larger scale in the Middle East than Ukraine. All this SMO has proven is that whites only care about whites ( as was observed publicly by the Malaysian FM recently). One rule for the West and another for everyone else.
Reports coming in now that a weaponry provided to Ukraine is finding its way to other countries via the blackmarket. I have no love for Russia but Ukraine is just as bad.
I’m confused. Elsewhere in Crikey, it’s been written that the July 14th thing is the start date of an extension to their visas – not a cutoff, at that the government is finalising permanent visa options for those who wish to seek them. So which is it? And if it’s true that the they are NOT being cut-off, then are you going to correct this piece?