Australia; Update for Afghanistan

Since August 2021 an unprecedented number of humanitarian visa applications have been received from Afghan nationals. The Department has put in place a number of additional measures to process applications, including additional staff in Australia. This additional resourcing is focused exclusively on processing applications from Afghan nationals. For more information about lodgement, registration and acknowledgement of humanitarian visa applications from Afghan nationals see statistics below.

Offshore Humanitarian Afghan Key Statistics as at 23 September 2022

*Unregistered applications have been estimated to include an average of 4.5 people per applications. These numbers remain subject to confirmation of application validity and numbers of applicants.

• 61.9% of applications lodged at the SHPC have been registered in Departmental systems.
• The Department is currently registering applications received on 4 October 2021.

We also continue to priorities Family visa applications for Afghan nationals. In the first quarter of 2021-22, the Department set up a specialized team to process this caseload. The work of this team is already driving a reduction in the number of older applications on hand.

We are prioritizing and assessing Afghan partner applications. This includes for onshore Humanitarian Stay (Temporary) (subclass 449) visa holders if the application is assessment–ready. We also continue to focus on identifying applications where applicants may have subsequently travelled outside Afghanistan and are able to undertake a health assessment and biometrics. We have also sent over  2,200 request letters for health and biometrics to applicants residing in Pakistan and Iran, where services can be accessed, as well as to a number of applicants remaining in Afghanistan where they or their authorized representative have indicated they are in a position to travel to access these services.

If you have travelled outside of Afghanistan and have not advised the Department of your change in location, you can notify us of your current address by using the Contact form for Afghanistan. This will assist processing of your application.

In 2021-22, the Department granted 1,725 Family visas including 1,570 first stage Partner and Prospective Marriage visas to Afghan nationals and is working towards granting around 5,000 partner and family visas over future program years.