‘Shut the door’: Australia to ban Iranian visa holders citing ‘national interest’

Iranians on temporarily visas will be restricted from re-entering Australia under controversial new powers. The Albanese government will from Thursday restrict anyone with a visitor visa (subclass 600) linked to an Iranian passport and who is outside of Australia from re-entering the country, more than four weeks after the United States’ and Israel’s surprise attack on Iran. Visa-holders are typically allowed to remain in Australia for up to 12 months, usually for tourism, business, or to visit family. However, under the new rules, which will remain in effect for six months, only spouses, de facto partners, or a dependent child of an Australia citizen or permanent visa holder, or a parent of a child under 18 already in Australia, will be allowed entry. The government claims the changes will bolster the integrity of Australia’s migration system and in the national interest. It warned the war against Iran increased the risk temporary visa holders may be unlikely or unable to depart Australia when their visa expired, and that the new measures would afford government time to assess cases, while still allowing “flexibility in limited cases”. “There are many visitor visas which were issued before the conflict in Iran which may not have been issued if they were applied for now,” Home Affairs Minister Tony burke said. “Decisions about permanent stays in Australia should be deliberate decisions of the government, not a random consequence of who had booked a holiday. “The Australian government is closely monitoring global developments and will adjust settings as required to ensure Australia’s migration system remains orderly, fair and sustainable.” Under the changes, a person issued an active Permitted Travel Certificate – including people who may have already departed for Australia – or holding another time of visa may be allowed entry. The changes would also not prohibit people outside Australia from applying for a new visa. In limited cases involving parents of Australian citizens, “sympathetic consideration” would also be given, the government said. Developed in consultation with the Iranian diaspora, the changes faced pushback when they were first introduced and passed in parliament earlier this month. At the time, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre Chief Executive Kon Karapanagiotidis said the rules “shut the door” on people seeking safety in Australia. “If people already have a visa to travel to Australia, and this kind of violence has broken out in their home country – why would we not want to help them?” he said. “On the very same day that the Government has acted so swiftly and compassionately to protect members of the Iranian women’s soccer team, they want to slam the door on family members of Australian citizens.” Mr Burke offered asylum to members of the Iranian women’s soccer team earlier this month – however, only two players ultimately followed through and remained in Australia. Senator David Shoebridge, Greens spokesperson on Immigration, claimed the government had supported an “illegal” war on Iran driven by “the lie that it was to support the Iranian people”. “Today, we see with 100 per cent clarity what the Albanese government thinks of the safety of the Iranian people as they shut the door on protection for people with a visa to come here,” Senator Shoebridge continued. “The Labor Party cynically used the plight of everyday Iranians to justify their support for this latest US forever war, and it has now dropped them when they are no longer of ‘use’.