Australia’s latest immigration ban has infuriated Iranian Australians who are now calling it both unfair and racist.
Many Iranians are being barred from entering the country because of the new snap law which came into effect on Thursday.
So far, more than 7,000 travellers have been denied entry and all of them are from Iran.
The affected travellers already had their Iranian visitor visas approved before they were unceremoniously revoked overnight.
The Australian government has said its new law was intended to prevent tourists from overstaying their visas, but refugee advocates argue otherwise.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the reversals were due to the fact that many of the travellers’ visas had been approved prior to the US/Israel-Iran war breaking out.
If the applications had been submitted after the fighting started, a large number of them would not have been approved given the circumstances, Burke said.
But a spokesperson for the Iranian Women’s Association, Nos Hosseini, urged the government to consider each visa individually to avoid a blanket travel ban.
Approximately 7,000 Iranians have had their visas to Australia cancelled after the federal government passed a new snap immigration laws on Thursday
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the Iranian visas had been approved before the outbreak of the war
Burke said the federal government would be empathetic in its ban, especially to those Iranians with children who are Australian citizens.
‘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,’ Burke said.
Others in government have also been supportive of the new law including Shadow Immigration Minister Jono Duniam, who said it made sense.
The Greens, however, have described the visa reversals as ‘brutal and unfair’.
Ms Hosseini was also critical of the government’s decision.
‘Given the terrifying situation in Iran, these applications need to be prioritised,’ she told the ABC.
‘Now is the opportunity for the Australian government to show compassion and allow people to apply for those exemptions, and have a humane lens when considering those requests.’
Sydney-based lawyer Artoniss Ehsani also highlighted that many Iranians living in Australia could not alert their family members abroad about the altered laws.
If the visa applications had been submitted following the onset of the US/Israel-Iran war then many would never have been approved
There is no way to tell those who had their visas approved that the decision was reversed however, as the Iranian regime has a near-total communication blackout in effect
Ms Ehsani said this was due to the fact that the regime in Iran had already imposed a near-total communications blackout for anyone still in the country.
It means there is no way for them to know their visas have retroactively been denied.
One Australian Iranian living in Melbourne said her parents have been told they are not allowed to enter the country for at least six months.
Vahideh Naghavinia’s parents had already spent a number of months in Australia before returning to Iran in February.
She said said cancelling visas for Iranians during war could be seen as ‘racist’.
‘They never had any intention of staying in Australia or applying for asylum seekers visas,’ Ms Naghavinia told the ABC.
‘It’s really hard to understand why this kind of restriction is being applied to innocent people like my parents who have done everything properly.’
As it stands, the law is unclear as to whether or not those who have had their visa approvals reversed will even get refunds after the government changed its mind.
Daily Mail has contacted the Department of Home Affairs for comment.
