While tens of thousands of Afghan applicants are still awaiting refuge in Australia, the government says it has granted nearly half of the allocated humanitarian visas for Afghan citizens. According to statistics published on its website, from the time of the Taliban’s takeover on August 15, 2021, until mid-May 2023, approximately 190,000 Afghan citizens had applied for asylum in Australia, submitting around 41,000 requests.
Among these, the Australian Ministry of Interior has finalized 9,364 applications, which included 42,241 applicants. However, out of the 9,364 finalized applications, visas have only been granted to 12,203 applicants, including 2,505 visa requests.
This is happening while currently, more than 159,200 Afghan citizens are still awaiting the processing of their humanitarian requests.