Key points
- A Perth teenager and her mother are facing a 50-year wait for permanent residency.
- The current wait time for the Remaining Relative Visa exceeds 50 years due to a very small number of visas granted each year.
- Sara Passarini' is calling for a change to this system through an online petition that has gathered nearly 18,000 signatures.
Sara Passarini was born in Milan, Italy, and moved to Perth with her mother eight years ago. Despite having lived in Australia for half of her life, she may have to wait until 2062 before she gets her permanent residency.
Sara's mother — a British citizen — applied for a Remaining Relative (subclass 835) Visa, sponsored by her sister who has lived in Australia for many decades.
They were granted Bridging Visa A, a temporary visa, pending the decision on their application that back then took 10 years to decide.
But a change in the family visas program in 2014 threw their plan off the rails.
“The current waiting time for this category is 54 years,” says Kerry Murphy, an accredited Immigration Law specialist and lecturer at the Australian Catholic University.
According to current processing times, Sara could only get her visa in 2062 - at the age of 60.
“The Government tried to abolish these visas, but when the Senate disallowed the abolition, the response from the Government was to drip-feed the number of applications that are granted every year,” says Mr Murphy explaining the long waiting period.
I have grown up in Australia, made friends and embraced it as my home. However, due to our past circumstances, I am on a bridging visa and will have to stay on one for the next 50 years.
Between 2016 and 2019, over 1500 people applied for the Remaining Relative Visas, with 200 of these visas granted during the three-year period.
Life on bridging visas
Besides the wait, Sara's visa status brings many challenges to her daily life.
“My life on a bridging visa is quite difficult. I will not possibly be an Australian for another 40 years but having lived here half my life, I wholeheartedly feel like I am a true blue Aussie,” she tells SBS Italian.
I want to take my future into my own hands and go to university. But this is not possible because despite spending half my life in Australia, I’m still classed as an international student.
She has just graduated from high school, but unlike her peers, she does not feel she can dream of a bright future ahead.
“I have always felt different from my friends. During my high school graduation ceremony, my classmates were talking about universities and their exciting plans for the future…I didn't know what to say."
Studying, travelling, and even having a non-Australian partner could jeopardise Sara’s future in Australia.
Sara Passarini (right) with her grandmother and cousin in Perth Source: Courtesy of Sara Passarini
“My dream is to go to university; I would like to become a journalist one day, but at the moment it is out of the question,” Sara says.
Despite working two jobs, she can't to afford the $90,000 fee as an international student and has no right to access any form of financial support to further her education.
Whenever she travels overseas, she has to apply for a Bridging Visa B that dictates when and for how long she can travel. Bridging visa holders can only return to Australia if they hold a Bridging visa B.
“Mom and I both lost our jobs during the pandemic; we had no Centrelink (payments) and no other support. It was very difficult. Australia needs migrants to restart the economy after the pandemic; we cannot be left behind."
Visa criteria dictating life choices
The primary criterion for the Remaining Relative Visa is to have no family members who are not Australian citizens or residents. This means, if Sara starts a relationship with a foreign national in the future, she and her mother, both could be refused the visa.
Since Sara applied for the visa as her mother's dependent, their visas could be in jeopardy if Sara becomes financially independent.
“Sara's visa depends on the application made by her mother. For the visa to be granted, Sara must remain dependent on her mother for the next 50 years - an unrealistic prospect given the waiting times,” says Prof Murphy.
He says in this situation, her mother would have a foreign citizen family member who is not dependent on her, and would not satisfy the key criterion for a Remaining Relative Visa as the primary applicant.
'No one should be in this situation.'
According to the current processing times of the Immigration Department, Sara's mother would be over 100 when she is granted the visa.
"When I think that she may no longer be here with us when she receives citizenship or that she may never get the residence; it's very sad — no one should be in this situation.”
My mum will be over 100 years old and I will be in my 70s before we can call ourselves permanent residents of Australia. Obviously, it is not reasonable or fair for us to live on a bridging visa for that long.
Sara wrote to several state and federal MPs about her situation but failed to get any support. She has recently , calling on the Home Affairs Minister, Peter Dutton, to take a compassionate view of the case.
"I ask the Minister, Peter Dutton, to grant my mum’s and my applications and to consider other people on the same visa, to give us the opportunity to contribute to the future of the country and the economy and to have the same opportunities as everyone else," the petition reads.
"Many people waiting for this visa have friends here, all the family they have left is in Australia; they must not be forgotten."
The petition has so far gathered nearly 18,000 signatures.
The Department of Home Affairs declined SBS Italian's request for comment.
