Humanitarian Visas Research Articles

Deprivation of citizenship and creation of statelessness: case study of Belarus

This research paper explores the use of citizenship deprivation and trials in absentia as tools of political repression, with a particular focus on Belarus. In Belarus, an amendment to the citizenship law was passed on July 11, 2023 allowing the Belarusian president to revoke Belarusian citizenship of those abroad, even if it would render them stateless. This new amendment would also allow for trials to be conducted in absentia, with a possible sentence being citizenship deprivation. The paper also delves into the bureaucratic tactics used by the Belarusian government to exacerbate statelessness. These include the closure of consulates abroad and the requirement for citizens to be physically present in Belarus to renew their passports, making it nearly impossible for those in exile to maintain their citizenship. This leaves those in exile with minimal, if any, legal protections and access to basic rights. Additionally, the research looks at the role of international relations in exacerbating the arbitrary use of these practices, particularly in the context of the war in Ukraine. This conflict has intensified political repression in Belarus and prompted neighbouring countries, such as Lithuania and Poland, to introduce humanitarian visas to protect Belarusians who fled the country. By analyzing these developments, the paper highlights the devastating effects of the powers of citizenship deprivation, including the creation of stateless individuals through both legal and administrative means, and emphasizes the need for a coordinated international response to safeguard citizenship rights in these instances.

Balancing Act: Humanitarian Governance and Migration Dynamics at the U.S.-Mexico Border.

The article examines the challenges and opportunities for humanitarian governance in the Cali-Baja border region, focusing on migration between Tijuana and San Diego. Based on a focus group entitled "Vision, Challenges and Proposals for the Cali-Baja Border Region," held on November 22, 2023, the study brings together expert perspectives on regional dynamics, problems, and potential solutions. It highlights that the region is experiencing unprecedented human mobility, influenced by Biden administration policies such as humanitarian visas and Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans, marking a contrast with the previous administration. The analysis underscores the importance of effective coordination among diverse actors to manage irregular human mobility. However, obstacles are faced in coherence and effectiveness in communication and collaboration, resulting in fragmented humanitarian responses. Challenges include limited shelter capacity and human rights protection, necessitating greater cooperation between governmental and non-governmental organizations. The lack of clear leadership and a shared rights agenda among actors has led to divergent approaches.

Analysis of the Role of the United Nations and Its Humanitarian Organizations in Solving the Human Rights Issues --Taking the Syrian Refugees as an Example

In March, 2011, the ongoing Syrian civil war has commenced, resulted in massive displacement and created one of the most severe humanitarian crises of the 21st century. This paper explores the effectiveness of the United Nations and its humanitarian organizations in addressing the human rights issues of Syrian refugees. The paper thoroughly examines the various efforts undertaken by the UN and its humanitarian organizations to provide aid and support to the millions of Syrians displaced by the conflict. It discusses the strategies that have been put into place to meet both the immediate and long-term needs of the refugees, such as shelter, healthcare, education, and resettlement programs. However, despite these efforts, the paper illustrates the challenges encountered by the UN and its humanitarian organizations in effectively handling a crisis like this, including political restrictions and constrained resources. A detailed analysis is presented of how these obstacles impact the efficiency of international aid and the overall management of the crisis. Later on, the paper puts forth possible solutions towards the refugee crisis, suggesting methods like humanitarian visa schemes and the establishment of SEZs, which are designed to offer safer and more legal routes for refugees to protect their human rights.

From securitisation to martialisation: Logistics of humanitarian protection in Brazil’s Amazon

The association between logistics and militarised humanitarianism is expanding as a strategy for managing migrants' productive and reproductive lives. In Brazil, despite a progressive humanitarian visa policy, the national army remains responsible for the logistics of a severely underfunded humanitarian operation in Brazil’s Amazon. This study, based on participatory action research with 300 migrants, introduces the notion of martialisation to show political and socioeconomic dimensions that are juxtaposed in the military logistics of humanitarian zones and subsequently experienced as a dominant structuring process of exploitation. These are securitization of migration linked to at once the deepening of market liberalism and the normalisation of military intervention within productive and reproductive processes. Findings show that the military leadership in Brazil’s humanitarian response reveals a multi-scalar phenomenon of military rule that contributes to sustaining the repressive labour regime in Brazil’s Amazon. It articulates the structures of labour subordination with the micromanagement of reproductive measures by which migrants are controlled, exploited, and dispossessed of their rights. The conclusion makes the case for the collective organization of migrants in pursuit of transformative action.

'If I'm not sick, I'm not going to see the doctor': Access to preventive sexual and reproductive health care for Karen women from refugee backgrounds living in Melbourne, Australia-A qualitative study.

Women from refugee backgrounds have poorer health outcomes than host country populations. People from Myanmar, most of whom are from the Karen ethnic minority constitute one of the largest groups of humanitarian visa entrants to Australia since 2015. Barriers to and enablers of preventive sexual and reproductive health (SRH) for this group of women are poorly understood. The objective is to establish the preventive SRH care needs and experiences of Karen women from refugee backgrounds living in Australia. A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was conducted with a purposive sample of Karen women. A bi-cultural worker assisted in recruitment and interpreting during data collection. All interviews were conducted in Karen language with a bi-cultural worker interpreting into English during the interview. Audio recordings of English dialogue were transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used to analyse and report data. Thirteen women were interviewed. Five major themes were identified: (1) prevention awareness including lack of access to education and knowledge of services pre-arrival; appreciation of the new health system; limited vaccination knowledge, (2) perceived need for prevention including consequences of not screening; health care provider (HCP) attendance, (3) health information seeking including providing a comprehensive approach to information delivery; trusted sources of information, (4) barriers including missed opportunities; communication, language, illiteracy; lack of continuity of care and, (5) enablers including HCP' characteristics; peer support and individual responsibility. Findings from this study indicate that to improve access to preventive SRH services a multi-component strategy is needed. Provision of preventive SRH information using a multi-pronged approach; peer and community support interventions; and HCPs offering services and information opportunistically would benefit Karen women unfamiliar with preventive SRH care. SO WHAT?: Primary prevention services and education codesigned with community members may be effective in improving Karen women's access to SRH care.

Location and visa‐category determinants of naturalization in Australia

AbstractImmigrants' naturalization is conditioned by demographic, socioeconomic and contextual factors, but little is known about how it is affected by permanent visa category and geographic location at the destination. Using the 2016 Australian Census and Migrants Integrated Dataset (ACMID) and Probit regression analysis, we examined how visa category and location of residence influence naturalization rates for Chinese and Indian migrants arriving in Australia between 2000 and 2016. Chinese migrants were most likely to naturalize if entering under a Humanitarian visa, and Indian migrants if under a Skilled Independent visa. Migrants in the Australian Capital Territory were the most likely to naturalize, and those in Victoria the least likely—a distinction sharpened by metropolitan as opposed to regional location. The transnational perspective, allied with cost–benefit and integration theories, performs well in accounting for these heterogeneities. The differences have clear policy and practice in Australia and for countries of origin.

The Road Not Taken

Many asylum cases present an opportunity for the European Court of Justice to promote and protect EU values such as human rights and the rule of law. Yet, in central issues on the EU asylum system, the Court has opted for careful and formal readings of law rather than exploring such perspectives. The Court’s legal reasoning in asylum is examined by case analyses in NF v Council on the EU-Turkey Statement, X and X on humanitarian visas, and A.S. and Jafari on the EU asylum system. In free movement, the Court is considered a key driver of integration, whereas, in asylum law, it is seen as more restrictive. Rather than promoting EU integration and ensuring human rights protections, the Court grants discretion to the legislator or the executive. There are legitimate reasons why a different path has been taken in asylum. However, as a more extensive and dynamic method of interpretation could increase human rights protections, it is relevant to reassess the position of the Court in asylum law.

Employment, income, and skill alignment of humanitarian migrants in the Australian labour market: Metropolitan and regional contexts, 2000–2016

AbstractHumanitarian migration to Australia has reached new levels, accompanied by unprecedented complexity and diversity. Little is known about labour market integration for these newcomers, nor about how well their skills match those required for or relevant to their employment. Here we analyse how labour force engagement and skill alignment are influenced by migration status, including migration scheme, region of birthplace, applicant status, year of arrival, citizenship, and internal migration after settlement, and metropolitan versus regional geographic location of settlement. In particular, we focus on employed humanitarian visa holders who arrived between 2000 and 2016. Using the 2016 Australian Census and Migrants Integrated Dataset (ACMID) for quantitative analysis, our modelling established that they were not as likely to be in the labour force as skilled visa holders. Similarly, humanitarian visa holders who were employed were less likely to be in jobs that matched their skills and more likely to have lower income levels. Moreover, there were significant differences in skill alignment between those settling in metropolitan and in regional areas. The relative probability of being over‐skilled was correlated with migration scheme, origin, duration since arrival, internal movement in the year preceding the census, proficiency in spoken English, family status, and gender. Labour market outcomes varied by visa subtype and by metropolitan versus regional settlement. We conclude that the design of migration policy requires further important consideration, both to improve the outlook for this vulnerable population and to address chronic skill shortages in Australia.

Misrecognitions of Victimhood: Discretionary Power of Street-level Bureaucrats in Humanitarian Visas

Humanitarian visas provide one of few potential pathways to citizenship for foreign nationals victimized within the United States and are an important aspect of immigration law. Yet one form of humanitarian visas—T nonimmigrant status (T visa)—has received scant attention in the socio-legal studies literature. “T visas” were designed to aid survivors of human trafficking and, though the US government estimates that tens of thousands of individuals are trafficked in the United States every year, only 15 percent of the five thousand T visas available annually have been granted since the program’s inception in 2002. Why are T visas such an underutilized form of immigration relief? Drawing on twenty in-depth interviews with immigration lawyers, law enforcement personnel, and non-governmental organization service providers routinely involved in T visa applications, we find that the low rate of applications and approvals is driven by a combination of structural barriers and expansive discretion of key actors in the legal process to interpret and apply the law, which results in a narrow and often misinformed construction of victimhood. We add to the literature on the discretionary power of street-level bureaucrats to shape the law and determine how it is applied with considerable consequences for survivors of trafficking.

Climate displacement and human rights: rectifying the current legal protection lacuna through international and regional solutions

ABSTRACT As the climate crisis increases in severity, the number of persons who will be displaced both internally and across state borders will rise exponentially. There is currently an alarming lacuna in international law regarding the protection of persons displaced by climate change, the implications of which are becoming increasingly dangerous as numbers inevitably surge. This paper explores potential mechanisms of protection for individuals displaced by climate effects internationally and regionally, analysing the merits and limitations of each avenue. Through a case study regarding the attempted humanitarian visa programme for Pacific Islanders in New Zealand, the paper establishes the need for rights-based mechanisms on both the international and regional levels designed to protect persons impacted by climate displacement through an autonomy-focused, culturally cognisant approach.

Climate Change Cross-Border Migration and the Biden Administration: What the Future Holds?

This article comments on the “Report on the Impact of Climate Change Migration, 2021” in the context of cross-border migration induced by climate change and existing domestic laws to protect immigrants fleeing climate change and environmental disasters in their country of origin. The Report will guide future domestic mechanisms to protect immigrants fleeing climate change under Executive Order (EO) 14013. The Biden Administration, through its EO 14013 in January 2021, had directed the National Security Advisor to prepare a report on the intersection of climate change and migration. The Report was released in October 2021 and consisted of cross-cutting themes that can guide future action plans built on principles of justice and equity, gender equality, and inclusion of marginalized communities. There is compelling evidence that disparate treatment exists in the United States on the basis of nationality, origin, race, and so on against migrants fleeing environmental disasters and climate change in their countries of origin. For example, historically, the United States has protected people disproportionately affected by disasters and ecological crises under domestic laws such as the Azorean Refugees Act 1958. However, the Azorean Refugees Act only covered the Europeans, and ever since, no domestic law has not been extended to protect people fleeing environmental disasters from non-European countries. Today, U.S. domestic laws fail to protect people of all nationalities fleeing environmental difficulties. The existing U.S. Immigration Law sets forth Temporary Protected Status and humanitarian visas that may be applied to protect such cross-border migrants. However, these laws have not been applied equally to vulnerable global communities.

Domestic and Family Violence for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities in Australia during COVID-19 Pandemic

Women are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Based on the Australian context, we highlight how women from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities are vulnerable to Domestic and Family Violence (DFV). During the pandemic, CALD women experienced inequality in relation to DFV support and services. In this paper, our methodology is based on a case study from a rapid review of academic and grey literature that privileged the lived experience of CALD women affected by the pandemic. From a critical social work perspective, we explored the newly emerging literature highlighting DFV for CALD communities during the pandemic. Our research highlights an increase in DFV incidents, frequency and severity of incidents against CALD women, limited access to DFV services, and that women on Temporary and Humanitarian Visas (THV) were more likely to be subjected to DFV. We support the urgent need to include women’s services in developing appropriate policy responses to address the specific issues facing women, particularly those on THV. Critical social work perspectives can be utilised to build on and support the response of services during the COVID pandemic to promote social and policy change, and increased access to services. This support can be implemented by workforce initiatives, dedicated resources and community engagement.

Professional Mental Health Help-Seeking Amongst Afghan and Iraqi Refugees in Australia: Understanding Predictors Five Years Post Resettlement.

The current longitudinal study sought to identify predictors of professional help seeking for mental health problems amongst Afghan and Iraqi refugees five years post-settlement utilising the Building a New Life in Australia dataset (BNLA). Data were collected via face-to-face or phone interviews across five waves from October 2013 to March 2018. Afghan and Iraqi born refugees numbering 1180 and over 18 years of age with a permanent humanitarian visa were included in this study. The results suggest differences in help-seeking behaviors amongst the two ethnic groups. Amongst the Afghan sample, older adults with high psychological distress were more likely to seek help, while living in regional Australia, not requiring interpreters, and knowing how to find out information about government services were related to lower likelihood of help-seeking. Within the Iraqi sample, poor overall health and knowing how to find out about services were related to a greater likelihood of help-seeking, while fewer financial hardships decreased the likelihood of help-seeking. Amongst those with probable PTSD, disability was associated with an increased likelihood of help-seeking while experiencing fewer financial hardships and living in regional Australia resulted in a lower likelihood of help-seeking in this group. These results have implications for promotional material and mental health interventions, suggesting that more integrated services tailored to specific characteristics of ethnic groups are needed.

Palestinians and Europe’s ‘Refugee Crisis’ Seeking Asylum in France in the Wake of the Syrian War

AbstractThis article examines French immigration policy through the experiences of Palestinians displaced by the war in Syria who are currently residing in France. In response to the Syrian refugee crisis, France has instituted an ‘asylum visa’ that enables refugees from Syria who are awarded the visa to travel legally from the Middle East to France to apply for asylum there. The asylum visa, also referred to as a ‘humanitarian visa’, extends to Syro-Palestinians. Humanitarian visas have been celebrated by some as a means by which individuals in need of international protection can seek asylum in Europe in a dignified and safe manner. I argue that it is too early to celebrate the French asylum visa. Indeed, evidence shows that steps to provide legal routes to Europe for asylum-seekers through humanitarian visas coexist with rather than overturn broader policies that seek to deter the majority of asylum-seekers from entering Europe.

Tuberculosis in migrants to Australia: Outcomes of a national screening program

Background: Few low-incidence countries are on track to achieve the ambitious target of reaching TB pre-elimination by 2035. Australia is a high-income country with a low burden of TB, which is particularly concentrated in migrant populations. As part of Australia's migration program, permanent, provisional and humanitarian visa applicants are screened for TB, along with some applicants for temporary visas.Methods: We calculated the prevalence of all forms of active TB and bacteriologically-confirmed TB among onshore and offshore applicants for visas to Australia from July 2014 to June 2017, and investigated associated risk factors using logistic regression.Findings: Visa applicants were predominantly young adults from various Asian countries. Among 2,381,217 applicants, 1263 cases of active TB were diagnosed, including 852 cases of bacteriologically-confirmed TB. Overall TB prevalence was 53.0 per 100,000, corresponding to one TB diagnosis for every 1887 applicants screened. TB rates increased with age and were higher among humanitarian applicants and those previously treated for TB, although most cases occurred in applicants without these risk factors. TB prevalence by country of origin was similar to WHO estimates for some countries, but considerably lower for others. For several highly represented countries of origin, rates appear to have fallen relative to earlier comparable studies.Interpretation: Prevalence of TB among visa applicants to Australia and the consequent risk to the Australian community appear to be declining and remain low. In this context, support for TB control programs overseas and preventive interventions are likely to have the greatest impact on domestic TB burden.Funding: No specific funding was received for this study. JMT is a recipient of an Early Career Fellowship from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (APP1142638).

Migration and dignity – relocation and adaptation in the face of climate change displacement in the Pacific – a human rights perspective

ABSTRACT Climate change is threatening to displace millions of people by the middle of this century, some of the most vulnerable countries being Small Island States (SISs) in the Pacific. Kiribati’s historical ‘Migration With Dignity’ (MWD) relocation scheme has been abandoned as an official government strategy, replaced instead by an approach based on economic prosperity, climate change adaptation and mitigation. Through a human rights perspective aimed at securing the minimally good life for those affected by climate change, this article seeks to explore and contrast in detail the potentials and limitations of cross-border relocation with the new adaptation strategy, exemplified in the ongoing urban and land development project in Temaiku Bight on the capital island of South Tarawa. It further considers increased quotas for labour migration and the creation of humanitarian visas and argues that while adaptation and economic growth may bide some time and regional cross-border relocations give no precedent for best practice, the best solution is a combination of options which cannot exist in isolation. It sums up the numerous policy issues which as a minimum must be addressed for there to be any hope of migration and dignity for the people of Kiribati in the years to come.

Is Anyone Listening to us? ‘They’re Given Feedback and There’s No Outcomes' Settlement for Newly Arrived Syrians in Regional Australia

ABSTRACT In 2017 the number of refugees arriving in Australia was double the intake of previous decades. In 2015 the Australian Government provided an additional 12,000 humanitarian visas specifically to Syrian and Iraqi refugees. While Australia has a robust predominantly urban system designed to settle refugees who have a high level of need, the same services may not be well suited or available to the Syrian population who are being encouraged to settle in rural and regional areas. This paper draws on empirical research that documents issues affecting Syrian refugee settlement and builds on existing research to identify keys to successful and ethical regional settlement policy. Initial findings suggest high levels of social capital but limited opportunities for employment and education are thwarting settlement efforts. We argue for working in partnership and promoting ethical social work values to address the challenges facing these newly arrived communities. Social workers and human service educators and practitioners in this space must adapt to the rapidly changing service delivery system. Working alongside refugees, in this case Syrian people, requires both co-production and transparency in order to shift perceptions of their vulnerability and lack of agency in order to foster agency and self-determination.

The End of Human Rights Dynamism? Judgments of the ECtHR on ‘Hot Returns’ and Humanitarian Visas as a Focal Point of Contemporary European Asylum Law and Policy

Abstract Two controversial rulings of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) deserve global attention, since they declined to scrutinize on human rights grounds the prevalent move towards enhanced border controls and externalization practices that define European asylum law and policy at this juncture. In ND and NT, judges deemed the Spanish policy of ‘hot returns’, without access to basic procedural guarantees, of those climbing border fences to be compatible with human rights. A few weeks later, the Grand Chamber thwarted enduring hopes for judicial innovation in MN when it reasserted a ‘primarily territorial’ understanding of State jurisdiction and declared inadmissible the claim of a Syrian family from the war-torn town of Aleppo to a humanitarian visa. While the decision on humanitarian visas means that ‘non-arrival’ policies cannot usually be challenged, critical inspection of the ND and NT judgment displays a confounding combination of restrictive arguments and dynamic elements beneath the surface of a seemingly clear-cut outcome. This lack of judicial precision, which was bound to cause heated debate about the practical implications of the judgment, reflects the basic tension between the prohibition of refoulement and the absence of a right to asylum in classic accounts of international refugee law. It will be argued that the judicial vindication of the Spanish ‘hot returns’ policy does not call into question non-refoulement obligations; it aims at identifying graded procedural standards for different categories of refugees and migrants. By contrast, the novel insistence on the abstract availability of legal channels of entry presents itself as a humanitarian fig leaf for the acceptance of strict control practices. At an intermediate level of abstraction, the two rulings mark a watershed moment, indicating the provisional endpoint of an impressive period of interpretative dynamism on the part of the ECtHR, which has played a critical role in the progressive evolution of international refugee and human rights law over the past three decades. Experts in asylum law who have become accustomed to supranational courts advancing the position of individuals will benefit from the insights of constitutional theory and the social sciences to rationalize why the former vigour has given way to a period of hesitation and potential standstill, at least in Europe. This analysis employs the perspective of strategic litigation to discuss contextual factors hindering the continued dynamism of human rights jurisprudence in Europe at this juncture.

South America’s Response to the Venezuelan Exodus: A Spirit of Regional Cooperation?

Abstract Based on the premise that massive influxes of Venezuelans might overwhelm their asylum systems, South American host States have resorted to ‘Temporary Protection or Stay Arrangements’ (TPSAs) as an uncoordinated but pragmatic response in times of regional hardship. As the Venezuelan situation deteriorated, however, a May 2019 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Guidance Note encouraged host States to apply their extended refugee definitions in tandem with prima facie refugee status determination (PFRSD), an expedited procedure that can prevent the overburdening of asylum capacities. Despite the availability of a more favourable approach, host States have continued to rely on TPSAs, raising questions about whether they truly intend to adopt a regionally coordinated plan, as agreed in the Quito Process. Drawing primarily on domestic refugee legislation and UNHCR’s ‘Guidelines on International Protection No 11’, the article argues that host States’ motivation to provide temporary protection is not so much related to the potential overburdening of their asylum systems but rather to the long-term commitments that would come with the granting of refugee status. It is shown that PFRSD is already regulated in the national laws of four South American States, with the potential of turning into a regional centralized response, but its application remains largely ignored. The article ultimately serves as a reminder for South American governments that displaced Venezuelans do not need temporary humanitarian visas as they are, first and foremost, entitled to legal protection under domestic refugee law.

Humanitarian Visas in the International Jurisprudence and Their Implications on the International Protection Regime of the Refugees

Article presents brief analysis of judgements available on humanitarian visas, and discusses the contradictions existing between the judgements and legal framework established in the European Union. Analysis concludes with the impact of the relevant practice on the international regime directed at the protection of refugees.