Deadline to apply for refugee status

After proposing (and implementing) changes to the 457 program and the Citizenship application requirements, the Australian government has set its sight on refugees in Australia. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton announced that a deadline of October 1 2017 has been set for people who arrived illegally in Australia by boat to apply for refugee status.

See announcement here.

This change greatly reduced the length of time asylum seekers have to apply for protection visas from one year to 60 days. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton noted that if asylum seekers do not apply within two months (60 days), their status resolution support service payments will be cut.

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection are currently sending out invitation letters to asylum seekers to apply for Temporary Protection Visas (TPV) or Safe Haven Enterprise Visas (SHEV) as well as outlining the consequences.