‘Nowhere Else to Go’: Australian Government Cancels Visas of Palestinians Fleeing Gaza

Several Palestinians fleeing from Gaza to Australia have had their visas cancelled while waiting in transit countries.

Almost 2300 temporary visas were granted to Palestinians with connections to Australia between October 7 and February 6. The visas would theoretically allow people to travel to Australia but not work, access healthcare, or education. 

The Sydney Morning Herald spoke to two Gazan women who were in Cairo waiting to complete their journey to Australia having previously obtained visas. However, they said they would not be able to board their connecting flight after discovering their visas had been cancelled, and had in fact been turned back mid-transit while attempting to board a flight from another Middle Eastern country.

Speaking under the pseudonym Cassandra, one of the women said: “I was devastated. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I was very happy thinking that we can get help, we will finally be in a period of safety.”

A spokesperson for home affairs minister Clare O’Neil said the government would not comment on individual cases, but said “the Australian government reserves the right to cancel any issued visas if circumstances change.” 

It is standard practice for visa applicants from any country to undergo security checks and, in the lead up to their arrival in Australia, be subject to potential ongoing security assessments.

But Rasha Abbas, the co-founder of the Palestine Australia Relief and Action Foundation, told the ABC that many of these people had been “encouraged” by the Australian government to use the tourist visa clause that was now being rejected. “We are really perplexed as to what changed,” said Abbas.

Dr Graham Thom, the Refugee Coordinator for Amnesty International Australia, called the news “abhorrent” and “absolutely disgraceful” on Twitter (now X). “These were the visas people fleeing Gaza were told to apply for on the DHA website,” said Thom. “The same visas people fleeing Ukraine applied for.”

Earlier this week, SBS News reported of seven cases where visas initially issued by the Australian government had now been retracted.

On Thursday, the General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific released a statement saying it had sent a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong stressing the cancellations could “widen the gap that is already growing” between the Australian government and the Palestinian community. 

“Transit countries permitted [people] entry for a limited time only because they held Australian visas: they will be forced to leave but they have nowhere else to go.”

“The General Delegation of Palestine urgently calls on Australian authorities to reconsider this decision and enable those who have been granted visas to travel safely to Australia.”

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