Temporary and Permanent Resident visa grants for Afghan Women Judges, Prosecutor’s, Activists and their families.
CASE TYPE
ISL assisted this group of women on a pro bono basis, the grounds of their matter were on a protection basis as they were under significant threat. We assisted in applying for Humanitarian Stay (Temporary) (subclass 449) visas to enable their almost immediate arrival to Australia. Subsequently, we applied for In-country Special Humanitarian (subclass 201) permanent residence visas.
CASE BACKGROUND DIFFICULTY
The Afghan Women Judges, Prosecutor’s, Activists and their families were in significant danger when the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021. These women were under significant threat as they were:
- Working women,
- They had previously prosecuted and been targeted by the Taliban as they had sentenced/ helped prosecute their members whilst maintaining the rule of law, and
- The Taliban had released prisoners from jail. Amongst these prisoner’s were criminal’s these women sentence/helped to prosecute, who were seeking revenge.
These women were evacuated by the International Bar Association (IBA) to Greece. The Greek government had agreed to grant temporary visas to the women and their families on the basis that the women would find a third country to settle in.
CASE STRATEGY
In order to initiate their arrival to Australia, we applied for Subclass 449 visas via direct application to the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, on the basis of the significant threat the women were facing due to their employment, career history and situation in Afghanistan. We provided the relevant documents for all 20 women and their dependants (total of 90 applicants). These women had the support of the IBA and were granted the temporary visas within weeks.
A couple of months after their arrival, they were invited to make permanent residence visa applications which we also completed on a pro bono basis. We ensured that all the necessary forms, which required detailed information, were correctly completed and the relevant documents were provided.
CASE OUTCOME
All 90 applicants were granted a temporary visa (Subclass 449) within a few weeks. Those who chose to come to Australia arrived not long after their temporary visa grants. They were subsequently invited to make permanent residence visa applications. Mostly recently, half of these women and their families were granted their permanent residence visas (Subclass 201), we are waiting on the outcome of the remaining applicants which we expect to be granted shortly.
Read more about the case here
More Articles from media
ABC | The Law Report: How Afghan women judges found safety in Australia
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