Refugees in "limbo" are allowed to stay in the country permanently.

Asylum seekers have called the federal government's decision to let almost 20,000 refugees apply for permanent residency "life-changing."

On Monday, the government of Albanese said that starting in late March, 19,000 people with temporary protection visas or safe haven enterprise visas will be able to apply online for permanent visas.

Only people who came to Australia before 2013, when Operation Sovereign Borders started, are allowed to apply.

Labor has a policy that says people who came to Australia by boat after the operation began will never be able to live there again.

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre is happy that the Albanese Government said that people who went through the unfair "Fast Track" process and are currently on Temporary Protection visas (TPVs) and Safe Haven Enterprise visas (SHEVs) will have a path to permanent residency. This is a win for refugees and people looking for asylum.

After almost a decade of suffering in the community, the Albanese Government has heard the pleas of the refugees who have fought and won against an unfair system and has begun to break down that destructive system.

Even though the announcement is a huge and long-overdue victory and a step towards restoring justice for refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia, it hasn't helped all 31,000 people in the Fast Track system in a good way.

How the Albanese Government puts this news into action will be very important. It needs to be quick, fair, and kind, and it needs to figure out everyone's status as soon as possible.

ASRC hopes that this is the start of real change for refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia.

Mohammad Daghagheleh, a paralegal at ASRC who is currently on a TPV, said, "There is a sense of the future, there is finally hope, and I am finally Australian." Before, I was afraid that my scholarship would not be renewed, but now I can study law."

"As a paralegal, I helped people get in touch with their families, but I couldn't do it myself. Now, after 10 years, I can see my sister and her two kids. When something like this goes on for 10 years, you don't think it will change” He said

Daghagheleh said Finally, the government has made the right choice. Since we've lived here for 10 years, we've shared our culture and our differences. Without that piece of paper, it was hard for me to feel like I belonged.

Meanwhile , the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Australia is happy that the Albanese government has kept its promise from the election to give Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) and Safe Haven Enterprise Visa (SHEV) holders, who have been living in uncertainty and poverty for many years, a way to get a permanent visa.

People with these temporary visas have gone through years of mental pain because they don't know what the future holds and have limited access to social services, jobs, and higher education.

"The Society welcomes the announcement by Immigration Minister the Hon Andrew Giles MP that this inhumane policy will end and that these temporary visa holders will be able to get free refugee legal services to apply for a permanent Resolution of Status Visa," Claire Victory, the president of the National, said.

"This announcement gives hope to the more than 19,000 TPV and SHEV holders who have been contributing to Australian society for more than a decade, often in rural and regional areas," She said.

“We are glad that the Government has promised to finish the conversion process by the beginning of next year. But we are still worried about the people whose claims were turned down by the unfair fast-track assessment process and whose only chance for a second look is for a minister to step in. Instead, as promised by Labor in its 2021 platform, the government should halt the fast-track assessment," she said.

The Society applauds the Australian government for giving permanent protection to people who have lived in our community for a long time. We also want the government to fully carry out its plan for refugees and people seeking asylum.

The current holders of Temporary Protection Visas (TPV) and Safe Haven Enterprise Visas (SHEV) are being provided with a permanent visa pathway as the Albanese government makes good on the promise it made during the election to provide such a pathway.

For the past ten years, people fleeing their homes in TPVs and SHEVs have been placed in a state of limbo. The Albanian government made a commitment to provide these visa holders with a permanent pathway, and today the government is making good on that commitment by delivering on the promise.

The Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security, the Hon. Clare O'Neil MP, said that the promise only applied to people who came to Australia before Operation Sovereign Borders started.

Both the Australian Defense Force and the Australian Border Force are currently conducting patrols in our waters with the intention of stopping and turning back any boats that make an attempt to enter.

According to the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon. Andrew Giles MP, it has been determined that everyone travelling on TPVs and SHEVs is a refugee and is therefore entitled to Australia's protection.

"There are thousands of TPV and SHEV holders in the community who have suffered through ten years of uncertainty as a result of the policies of the previous Liberal government," the author writes. Mr Giles said.

"Holders of TPV and SHEV work, pay taxes, start businesses, employ Australians, and build lives in our communities—often in rural and regional areas." [Citation needed] However, because they do not have permanent visas, they have been unable to secure a loan in order to purchase a home, expand their businesses, or continue their education.

There have been no changes made to the policy architecture of Operation Sovereign Borders in Australia. Everyone who makes an unauthorised attempt to sail to Australia by boat will be sent back to their point of departure, returned to their country of origin, or transferred to another nation.

All non-citizens who are found not to engage Australia's protection obligations and who have done everything possible to stay in Australia despite being told they have no other options are expected to leave the country as soon as possible.

Since Immigration Minister Scott Morrison set up the "Fast Track" system in 2014, around 31,000 people have been forced to go through it. It has been a long, unfair process that has caused a lot of stress and trouble for those involved and their families.

People who went through Fast Track and were given TPV and SHEV will be able to apply for permanent Resolution of Status visas (RoSV) once the Minister removes the barrier that stopped them from doing so.

People who have submitted applications for TPVs and SHEVs to the Department will have those applications changed into applications for permanent RoSVs if they meet the criteria. After a decade of cruelty, this process must be quick, effective, and take trauma into account.

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