Petition EN1994 – Extend visas and provide Residency pathways to stranded Temporary Residents.
The above petition, submitted in late December, has been responded to by the Government.
The main requests were:
1. Extend all their visas for up to 5 years so when they come back to Australia would have enough time to make up and get back on track with their personal and professional lives.
2.Provide Permanent Residency pathway as a special COVID-19 consideration to all the Temporary Residents mentioned.
One news reports says the response was:
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has said the government has no intention to grant visa extensions to temporary graduate visa holders (Subclass 485) stranded outside Australia due to COVID-19 border restrictions.
The wording on the official response, linked below, is not as clearly worded as the above.
The full petition and response can be seen at www.aph.gov.au/petition_list?id=EN1994