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Mahsa Mazaheri fears her visa renewal could be rejected. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
Their time in those facilities felt like “time in jail”, but the pair were medically evacuated to mainland Australia after her mother’s health worsened in 2014.<\/p>\n
They have been in visa limbo since.<\/p>\n
Under Australia’s immigration policies for people who arrived by boat, Ms Mazaheri and her mother have been denied any pathway to a permanent visa in Australia.<\/p>\n
They are part of a cohort of more than 700 survivors of offshore detention living in Australia with no permanency, according to the Human Rights Law Centre.<\/p>\n
Despite their uncertain visa status, many have started families, had children, and built lives they say they cannot leave behind.<\/p>\n
Ms Mazaheri is a small business owner who pays taxes, but she cannot leave the country and make any long-term plans due to restrictions on her temporary visa.<\/p>\n
Lives built around ‘insecure visas’<\/p>\n
Human Rights Law Centre associate legal director Laura John said that under the Australian government’s migration laws, people previously held in offshore detention who were now living in Australia are categorised as “transitory persons”.<\/p>\n
“Despite living in Australia for over a decade, having an Australian citizen partner or children, working in critical industries and being part of the fabric of the Australian community, the 700 people previously held in offshore detention who have built homes in Australia are still left on short-term, insecure visas,” she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Mazaheri said reapplying for her visa every three or six months with no guarantee of it being granted had been emotionally taxing.<\/p>\n
“I’m not sure if they give me the visa or they tell me I have to go to a different country,” she said.<\/p>\n
“We don’t know what’s going to happen the next day.”<\/p>\n
Ms John, who has been working closely with Ms Mazaheri and her family, said Australia’s offshore processing policy had “caused immeasurable harm to thousands of people and their families”.<\/p>\n
UN finds Australia breached torture convention<\/a><\/p>\n The United Nations committee has determined Australia breached its international legal obligations by allegedly exposing an asylum seeker from Iran to torture in immigration detention.<\/p>\n Ms John said it was time the government abandoned “cruel and senseless policies from the past” and let people stay with their families and communities.<\/p>\n A Department of Home Affairs spokesperson said “transitory persons temporarily residing in Australia under regional processing arrangements do not have a permanent settlement pathway in Australia”.<\/p>\n “Transitory persons are encouraged to consider their options to depart Australia, either to a third country or return to their home country,” it said in a statement.<\/p>\n “A range of support is available to transitory persons to connect with third country migration options or to return home voluntarily.”<\/p>\n ‘I just want permanent safety’<\/p>\n Ms Mazaheri has set up a life with her husband, who she met in Australia, and their two daughters, who are four and three years of age.<\/p>\n “We have the kids, we have a family, and I just want permanent safety,” she said.<\/p>\n What happened to the children Australia detained?<\/a><\/p>\n In the decade since the Human Rights Commission\u2019s landmark report was released, evidence continues to mount about the harm immigration detention does to children \u2014 and their suffering continues to ripple across the community.<\/p>\n Ms Mazaheri’s husband arrived by boat from Iran a few days after her, but was not transferred to Naoero because the government’s policy “was not applied consistently”, according to Ms John.<\/p>\n Ms Mazaheri’s husband was allowed to apply for refugee protection onshore and was granted Australian citizenship earlier this year.<\/p>\n Their two daughters were added to their father’s application and both are now Australian citizens.<\/p>\n Mahsa Mazaheri says her husband and daughters becoming citizens has made her own position feel all the more tenuous. (Supplied)<\/p>\n It was a bittersweet outcome for Ms Mazaheri.<\/p>\n “I was really happy for them, but in my heart I was really upset,” she said.<\/p>\n Ms Mazaheri said the situation reminded her of the possibility of being taken from her daughters due to her temporary status.<\/p>\n “In Iran I had a really hard situation with the government, but here it’s harder for me,” she said.<\/p>\n “Every morning when I wake up, I’m thinking about my kids: ‘Am I going to stay with them? Maybe they’re [the Australian government] are going to surprise me. If they tell me to go to a different country, what should I do?’<\/p>\n “I don’t have any future now.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Calls for resolution of status<\/p>\n The bridging visa Ms Mazaheri and her mother have been granted includes conditions such as limitations on work and study, and they are subject to a conduct of behaviour policy, according to the Department of Immigration.<\/p>\n The website states that Bridging Visa E (BVE) has two categories: subclasses 051 and 050.<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8aba564001d1e88d4779e9ff10dcec50.jpeg\")
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