Australia government accused of abandoning visa processing for people in Afghanistan

The Albanese government has quietly abandoned processing refugee applications for potentially thousands of people trapped in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

KEY POINTS

• Home Affairs will not process visas for anyone stuck in Afghanistan.
• An immigration lawyer says Labor is “wiping its hands” of the problem.
• He also says Labor has not expanded background testing even for those who escape Afghanistan.

The decision means thousands of Afghans currently trapped are now faced with the option of remaining, or taking a dangerous trip across the border as the Taliban heavily restricts attempts to leave.

The Home Affairs website states that there are no facilities capable of carrying out biometric tests – which confirm an applicant’s identity and background – or conducting visa interviews in Afghanistan.

“To ensure that resettlement is provided in a timely manner to those most in need, and to reduce uncertainty for those awaiting the outcome of their application, applications that do not fall within the [humanitarian] program’s priorities for the Afghan caseload, including from applicants who remain in Afghanistan, will be refused,” it says.

Priorities are listed as locally-engaged employees (LEEs), their partners and children aged under 18, along with women and girls, ethnic minorities, LGBTIQ+ and other identified minority groups.

Military lawyer Glenn Kolomeitz, who has helped evacuate hundreds of former Afghan allies, confirmed he had been informed.