Thanks to all those readers who sent me examples of the problems they have experienced while living in Australia on a Bridging Visa while waiting for their visa application to be processed.
Those who have been languishing in the Priority 5 queue mostly entered into the visa application process with one expectation (that their application would be processed in a reasonable time) and ended up living a quite different reality as the Minister’s Priority Processing decisions were announced. Many have now been on Bridging visas for more than 3 years.
Life on a Bridging visa is set to become the normal state of being for quite a few Other Family stream applicants – Parents, Carers, Remaining Relatives – all face waits that range between 20 and 10 years. It is difficult to understand how any system, let alone one that boasts “People our Business” as its creed, could generate this type of spectacular political and bureaucratic insensitivity.
Stress comes out as the most reported outcome of Bridging visa limbo. This is stress inherent from the uncertainty of undefined status and from the myriad of galling inequities that BV status delivers to the visa holder. We see a raft of law suits from those held in immigration detention who have suffered a variety of stress related illnesses; I wonder when the first BV holder is going to try a court case on for size?
Next comes access to permanent career oriented employment. For many in the P5 queue – they came, got qualified at great expense and now can’t get work in their occupation as employers have an aversion to BV holders. Then of course there are those who get exploited by less than scrupulous employers who see them as cheap labour – they need work to survive and hence they are vulnerable in our labour market.
Travel is another issue. If you’re on a BVA at least you can apply for a BVB but then a) you’ve got to ask DIAC for permission, b) they charge (now$125) to be ever so magnanimous on each occasion and c) you must have a ‘substantial reason for travel’ – a great subjective bat that I’ve seen wielded by some DIAC officers for no other reason than they can. For those who must travel for work this system becomes a major headache the rest of us just don’t have to put up with. If you don’t have a BVA well you cannot travel at all no matter what disasters may happen in your country of origin. This no travel sentence lasts as long as the BV with no way out. This is punishment that in the vast majority of cases is way beyond the offence of being unlawful for as little as a single day.
Accommodation is also placed under stress. It’s harder to rent or get a lease on a BV. Getting a home loan – well I don’t think so. Given a choice between a BV holder and someone else many landlords don’t take what they see as the risk.
Loans or any form of credit becomes more difficult, so BV holders often end up in the areas of the financial market that are unregulated and open to all types of abuse from marginal lenders. Getting something as simple as a mobile phone contact becomes a problem. Many relate how difficult it is to get signed up to a phone plan.
It has been said by many who work on BV that they pay tax as a full-time employee but get none of the tax breaks open to residents or citizens. This is fair enough in the short term as a person waits to get a visa application processed (in transition) but when it goes on tax year to tax year the lack of fairness and access are again a punishment rather than a transition period.
Applicants for visas often do their best to get all the required documents into their applications – medical, police certificates and IELTS for example as DIAC suggest – none of these are free, and then they get punished again by having to pay to get them again as time on the BV has allowed these items to lose currency and DIAC say give us a new one. This makes little sense; how for example do DIAC think a person’s English will have deteriorated by living and working in Australian?
Medicare starts hassling BV holders after a couple of years asking for letters from DIAC to prove they are still eligible for their Medicare card. DIAC of course say no that’s not necessary, give them the old letter we gave you. Medicare say, no that won’t do we want a new one and so on… until the BV holder has to get a letter from Medicare saying to DIAC they want a letter. The BV holder then has to go into DIAC, wasting hours and convince someone to give them a new letter. Inter federal government department ping pong – silly unless you just happen to be the BV holder ball.
Relationships become different for BV holders. If a BV holder marries while sitting in the BV queue they cannot bring their new spouse to Australia to wait with them. For many cultural groups this poses major problems and creates totally unnecessary inter-family tensions.
School fees are of course a special bonus for BV holders with children at school. Full foreign student fees apply in this user pays system. Money is hard enough for BV holders to earn but this system ensures that they don’t get to hold onto it for too long. If you have a couple of kids at school this could be $20000 pa. This is quite a healthy percentage of the average wage if the BV holder is lucky enough to get paid that much. In addition these fees vary quite a bit from state to state as well if you have to move for work making budgeting a nightmare.
OK by now you’re beginning to get the picture. Many of you are of course living this dream. None of these consequences are intentional. However that does not absolve the federal government from blame. Something needs to be done and simply saying we’re processing applications as fast as we can is NOT an answer. Is there anyone in the Immigration Minister’s office who’d like to live like this?