Temporary protection visa
Encyclopedia
A Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) was an Australia
n visa document
introduced by the Howard Government
on 20 October 1999, which was issued to persons who had been recognised as refugees fleeing persecution. The scheme was controversial, with the government claiming it was a necessary response to the misuse of the asylum process by unauthorised arrivals. Refugee advocates described TPVs as a cruel way to treat people which left asylum seekers with an uncertain future.
The Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) was issued to persons who applied for refugee status after making an unauthorised arrival
in Australia, and was the main type of visa issued to refugees when released from Australian immigration detention facilities
. After being granted a TPV, refugees were required to reapply several years later, in case conditions changed in their homeland. TPV holders are only eligible for some of the special settlement services funded by the Commonwealth to assist new arrivals in Australia. Unlike Permanent visa (PV) holders, TPV recipients have no family reunion rights and no right to re-enter the country if they decide to depart Australia. TPV holders do have the right to work and have access to job matching by Centrelink. They are also eligible for Special Benefit, Rent Assistance, Family Tax Benefit, Child Care Benefit, Medicare, Early Health Assessment and Intervention Program, torture and trauma counselling, and English as a Second Language classes (for TPV minors only).
The Rudd Government
committed itself to the abolition of the TPV category as part of its Budget 2008-09 announcements made in May 2008. The regulations providing for the granting of permanent protection visas (PPVs) to all refugees who have established a claim for protection in Australia were introduced into the federal Parliament in August 2008. From this time, any person who is applying in Australia for refugee protection will be granted a PPV. Individuals who were, as of August 2008, still on a TPV, became eligible to apply for a Resolution of Status Visa, which, should it be granted, is akin to a permanent protection visa. As for the TPV, the Resolution of Status Visa is granted subject to the TPV applicant undergoing health and ASIO/AFP security checks.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n visa document
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
introduced by the Howard Government
Howard Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
on 20 October 1999, which was issued to persons who had been recognised as refugees fleeing persecution. The scheme was controversial, with the government claiming it was a necessary response to the misuse of the asylum process by unauthorised arrivals. Refugee advocates described TPVs as a cruel way to treat people which left asylum seekers with an uncertain future.
The Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) was issued to persons who applied for refugee status after making an unauthorised arrival
Unauthorised arrival
An unauthorised arrival is a person who has arrived in a country when they are not a citizen of that country and does not have a valid visa or does not satisfy other required conditions for entry to that country....
in Australia, and was the main type of visa issued to refugees when released from Australian immigration detention facilities
Australian immigration detention facilities
Australian immigration detention facilities comprise a number of different facilities throughout Australia and one on the Australian territory of Christmas Island. They are used to house people who are detained under Australia’s policy of mandatory detention and previously under the now defunct...
. After being granted a TPV, refugees were required to reapply several years later, in case conditions changed in their homeland. TPV holders are only eligible for some of the special settlement services funded by the Commonwealth to assist new arrivals in Australia. Unlike Permanent visa (PV) holders, TPV recipients have no family reunion rights and no right to re-enter the country if they decide to depart Australia. TPV holders do have the right to work and have access to job matching by Centrelink. They are also eligible for Special Benefit, Rent Assistance, Family Tax Benefit, Child Care Benefit, Medicare, Early Health Assessment and Intervention Program, torture and trauma counselling, and English as a Second Language classes (for TPV minors only).
The Rudd Government
Rudd Government
The Rudd Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia of the Australian Labor Party from 2007 to 2010, led by Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister. The Rudd Government commenced on 3 December 2007, when Rudd was sworn in along with his ministry...
committed itself to the abolition of the TPV category as part of its Budget 2008-09 announcements made in May 2008. The regulations providing for the granting of permanent protection visas (PPVs) to all refugees who have established a claim for protection in Australia were introduced into the federal Parliament in August 2008. From this time, any person who is applying in Australia for refugee protection will be granted a PPV. Individuals who were, as of August 2008, still on a TPV, became eligible to apply for a Resolution of Status Visa, which, should it be granted, is akin to a permanent protection visa. As for the TPV, the Resolution of Status Visa is granted subject to the TPV applicant undergoing health and ASIO/AFP security checks.
External links
- Human Rights Watch Commentary On Australia's Temporary Protection Visas For Refugees
- http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media/media-releases/2008/ce05-buget-08.htm