The Hidden Impact of Extended Visa Processing Times

The Hidden Impact of Extended Visa Processing times

It's no secret that the Australian visa process can be long and arduous. What you may not know, however, is the hidden impact that extended processing times can have on immigrants and their families. In this blog post, we'll explore some of the ways in which visa delays can affect newcomers to Australia. We'll also discuss some of the steps you can take if your visa application is taking longer than expected. So, if you're feeling anxious about your pending visa application, read on for some helpful advice!

The Current State Of Play

The Australian Immigration landscape over the last two years has been a rocky and unpredictable road. From the unexpected and unprecedented closure of Australia’s international borders on 20 March 2020 to the implementation of a bespoke COVID-19 Stream visa, visa holders both inside and outside Australia have had to navigate a lot.

Regardless of visa subclass, what has become common to all is the extended processing times for many visas. Particularly in the employer sponsored space, temporary skills shortage visas in the short-term stream may be waiting as long as 15 months for a visa.

What Is Causing The Delay?

The obvious culprit is COVID-19 and the resulting closure of the borders. Whilst fewer people were entering Australia, the number of visa applications on hand for processing remained in a sense ‘stuck’ in the Department’s system. This was then compounded by an increasing number of visa applications being lodged by individuals who remained onshore and found themselves close to a visa expiry without the ability to depart Australia.

An additional layer of complexity was that the limited resources of the Department of Home Affairs had to be diverted from various processing centres to deal with new services (e.g. the processing of Travel Exemption Applications).

We now have a perfect storm whereby there is a significant backlog of cases for the Department to get through and continuing scarcity of resources to deal with this. Based on the figures released in the 2022 Federal Budget, the funds allocated to Immigration will continue to decrease over the next three years despite reliance on the Migration Program to bolster our economy.

What Is The Impact?

The impact of extended processing times across a number of visa subclasses cannot be understated. Given that a large part of the migration program has been in a holding pattern for the last two years, we are only now starting to see the true effect that this is having on visa holders. For example:

For individuals awaiting partner visas, a lot can change in two years and a change in relationship status can have a dire impact on this application process. COVID-19 and ensuing lockdowns have seen relationships breakdown before applications can be assessed and finalised.
Similarly, there has been an increase in domestic violence claims which creates further delays in processing whilst a delegate assesses whether family violence has in fact occurred.
For employers waiting to onboard workers with pending work visas, operational requirements mean that some positions cannot be held indefinitely and individual visa holders lose out on being sponsored as their applications are withdrawn.
From a practical perspective, the extended processing times are meaning that individuals may be subject to repeat medical examinations and character clearances as these lapse during processing. This takes additional time and costs to secure a booking a BUPA Visa Medical Services or obtain a new police clearance.