'Horrendous numbers': Hundreds of partners and children of Australian citizens stuck under Taliban rule

Newly-released data has laid bare the number of Afghans still attempting to join their loved ones in Australia, some stuck under Taliban rule, with others waiting for more than a decade.

Up to one thousand Afghan partners and children of people entitled to live in Australia are stuck under Taliban rule awaiting visa processing. Source: Supplied / Glen McCarthy

Key Points

• Up to 1,000 partners of children of Australian citizens are stuck under Taliban rule.
• Around 7,000 Afghan nationals were awaiting on partner visas to join loved ones in Australia.
• The Greens are calling for action to lower the 'horrendous numbers'.

Up to 1,000 partners or children of Australian citizens are stuck under Taliban rule, facing a choice between a dangerous trip across the border or remaining indefinitely separated from their loved ones.

Nearly 7,000 Afghan nationals, including 2,537 children, are waiting for their partner applications to be finalised, according to data from the Department of Home Affairs of the backlog as of the end of 2022.

One thousand are stranded in Afghanistan under the Taliban, which has imposed a brutal rule since seizing control of the country in 2021, with the remainder scattered across the globe.

Around 7000 Afghan nationals are still waiting for their family visas, some for more than a decade. Credit: CPL Dustin Anderson

Greens immigration spokesperson Nick McKim, whose questions to the Department prompted the data disclosure, said most of the "responsibility" for the backlog fell on the previous Coalition government, but it was incumbent on Labor to expedite processing.

"These are horrendous numbers, " he said.

"And behind [them] is a large number of people who have a direct family connection to Australia, who have been left languishing often in very dangerous circumstances for far too long."

The numbers also laid bare long processing delays, with more than 1,000 still yet to receive a resolution despite lodging their application a decade ago.

Labor in February revoked a ministerial direction that put the partners of people who arrived by boat at the bottom of the processing queue. Those waiting a decade or more were most likely to have been subjected to that direction.

Senator McKim welcomed its "long overdue" revocation, but called for more resources to expedite processing and "get people out of danger".

"This has been far too big a problem for far too long. These are human lives that we're talking about here," he said.

Greens senator Nick McKim describes the figures as 'horrendous'. Source: AAP

Stuck under Taliban rule

Of the applicants, 4,197 were women or girls, 2,724 were men or boys, while the gender of four was not specified.

The partner provisional visa (subclass 309) allows the de facto partner, spouse, or child of an Australian citizen or permanent resident to live in Australia as they apply for a more long-term stay.

The prospective marriage visa (subclass 300) allows someone who intends to marry an Australian citizen or permanent resident to come to the country.

A government spokesperson said 3,385 family stream visas had been granted since August 2021.

But SBS News revealed last month that the Australian government was accused of abandoning attempts to rescue many vulnerable visa applicants stuck in Afghanistan, in arguing biometric testing - used to confirm their identity - was too difficult to carry out under the Taliban.

That decision means many of the 1,001 family members stranded have no realistic prospect of joining their loved ones in Australia, unless they make a dangerous trip across the border to Pakistan.

Most of the cohort are women and children. Credit: SGT Glen McCarthy

Senator McKim urged the government to do "everything possible" to facilitate biometrics testing in neighbouring countries, warning applicants faced danger regardless of whether they stayed or attempted to leave Afghanistan.

"It is extremely dangerous for women and children. It's extremely dangerous for ethnic minorities, like Hazara people," he said.

"Given that these applicants are partners of Australian citizens and permanent residents, it is absolutely incumbent on the Australian government to do everything they can."

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles in February revoked a direction which left up to a thousand Afghans waiting for a decade. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

A Home Affairs spokesperson confirmed biometric testing continued to be a requirement for Afghan nationals, but said the government remained committed to progressing family visa applications.

"Despite a protracted and volatile situation in Afghanistan continuously impacting on the Department's ability to process in-country applications, the Department continues to actively process these cases," they said.

"A specialised team was set up in Melbourne in August 2021 to focus this caseload, and the Department is further increasing the size of this team to better meet the caseload's processing demands."

Immigration lawyer Glenn Kolomeitz previously told SBS News that even legal trips to neighbouring Pakistan or Iran were fraught with risk.

More than 1,000 applicants were in Pakistan, where the Taliban remains a dangerous presence, and the whereabouts of another 3,656 remained unknown.

Mr Kolomeitz said processing by Australian authorities in Pakistan is sluggish, while Pakistani authorities are threatening to return applicants to Afghanistan when their short-term visas to the country expire.