A Hazara asylum seeker who reached Australia by boat after fleeing persecution in Afghanistan has welcomed changes to visa arrangements that may enable him to meet his young daughter for the first time and reunite with his wife.
Rohullah Hussaini is among the 19,000 asylum seekers who arrived in the country prior to Operation Sovereign Borders who can now apply to stay permanently, following the federal government's decision last week to abolish the temporary protection visa (TPV).
"It is brilliant news," Mr Hussaini said.
"After I heard that, I got a call from lots of friends and family and we were all very happy.
"The new law means that hopefully my limbo life, my temporary life, can end as soon as possible because it is very tough."
Mr Hussaini came to Australia in 2012 from a small village in war-torn Afghanistan.
He currently lives in Swan Hill, in regional Victoria where he works as a landscape gardener and volunteers with the State Emergency Service.
Mr Hussaini has been on a TPV for 11 years, which has restricted his rights to buy a house, access social security payments and sponsor his family to live in Australia.
Families separated
Mr Hussaini has worried daily about the family he left behind, including his wife, mother, brothers and his three-year-old daughter Jasmine, who was born after he last saw his spouse four years ago.
His fears have heightened since 2021 when the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan.
He believes under the organisation's rule the country has now "gone back 100 years".
"My only sister was shot by the Taliban when they arrived last year," Mr Hussaini said.
"I just hope none of the asylum seekers from Afghanistan are going to lose any family members.
"Lots of people I know, they are living here by themselves because they can't bring their family over.
"Hopefully this new law will allow us to be re-united as soon as possible."
The road ahead
The new visa arrangements will come into effect at the end of March, but legal experts say it could be some time before family reunions occur.
Immigration lawyer Carina Ford has acted on behalf of up to 1,000 clients on TPVs.
She says it can take 12 months to be granted permanent residency, which must happen before a person can sponsor their family to migrate to Australia.
"The average processing time [for sponsorship] varies between six months to 33 months, but hopefully that longer period will slowly come down," Ms Ford said.
Two weeks ago, the federal government reversed a policy known as Ministerial Direction 80, which placed restrictions on processing family visa applications from asylum seekers who arrived by boat, creating long delays.
"There has been significant improvement in processing visas since Labor came in, so I hope we won't see the backlogs we have had previously," Ms Ford said.
There has been an "air of happiness" at Ms Ford's firm since the changes were announced and staff have been dealing with "a dramatic increase of calls" from clients wanting to start the process.
Mr Hussaini is already planning for the next phase of his life.
Despite being able to set up a permanent life anywhere in Australia, Mr Hussaini wants to settle his family in Swan Hill, on the Murray River.
"I cannot wait to see the family and bring them to a beautiful place like Australia, so they can live their life as human beings," he said.
"I left Afghanistan, which is the heart of Asia, and arrived in the beautiful country town Swan Hill, which is the heart of the Murray.
"I cannot wait to call myself one of these 'bloody Aussies' and I think the day will come soon."
