For Abdullah, bearing the weight of separation from his wife Fatema and four children taking refuge in Pakistan - far from his own safety in Adelaide - is a heavy burden.
“I can’t even begin to explain how hard it is for me,” he told SBS News through an interpreter in his own Hazaragi language.
“I am trying to bring my family here and trying to get their case processed - it is truly hard for me.”
The refugee from Afghanistan is of Hazara ethnicity - a group that has long faced persecution from the Taliban because of their largely Shi’ite Muslim faith.
He was granted refugee protection in Australia in 2011, after fleeing his home country because of fears for his safety.
His family had remained in Afghanistan until being forced to leave for Pakistan after a missile attack struck near their home in 2012, killing one of their daughters.
In 2017, Fatema and her children applied for a Partner visa to reunite with Abdullah but, more than four years on, have received no response from the federal government.
The Human Rights Law Centre has now launched legal action on their behalf against the Morrison government, arguing it has “unreasonably delayed their reunion".
The case against the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migration Services and Multicultural Affairs, was filed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court on 2 February.
Abdullah suffers from depression and a medical condition that has left him legally blind, according to court documents.
He said this has made his separation from his family even more difficult, as well as making it hard for him to visit them in Pakistan.
“I ask the Australian government don’t torture me anymore - I am in a very bad situation,” he said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs said it does not comment on individual cases.
They added that “as the matter is currently before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
“The Department acknowledges the current situation in Afghanistan and appreciates that clients are anxious to have their visa applications finalised,” the spokesperson said.
Josephine Langbien is a senior lawyer for the Human Rights Law Centre overseeing Abdullah’s case.
She said the years of silence from the federal government about the progress of their visa application had left them “no choice” but to take legal action.
“The family have contacted the Department of Home Affairs repeatedly over the years asking for updates, begging their application to be expedited,” she told SBS News.
“They’ve got no answers, no visas and no explanation for the delay.”
The Department of Home Affairs maintains the time taken to process family visa applications can vary according to the individual circumstances of each case.
This includes factors such as the complexity and completeness of applications, which involves assessments of relationship status, as well as on character, identity, health and security.
The cost of a Partner (provisional) visa to come to Australia is approximately $7,850.
Ms Langbien said it wasn't until last Thursday that lawyers for the minister informed them the Department tried to send a letter to the family requesting more information in November 2021.
It was sent to the wrong email address.
Ms Langbien said the court case cannot force the government to grant the family a visa, but it can compel the government to make a decision over the application.
“That’s all the family wants is an answer,” she said.
She also said the case was significant, as they believed it was the first of its kind to challenge this kind of delay in responding to a family visa application.
“A judgment in a case like this would be really significant in sending that message to the government that four years is too long,” she said.
Family visas promised for Afghan nationals
Amid the backdrop of the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul last August, the Australian government has promised 5,000 family visa places dedicated to Afghan nationals over four years.
A spokesperson for the Department said the government continued to give Afghan nationals priority in this caseload and had set up a specialised team to progress their applications.
“The Department is on track to deliver approximately 1,500 Family visa grants to Afghan nationals in 2021-22,” the spokesperson said.
In 2021-22, as of 28 February, a total of 905 Partner (subclass 309) and Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa applications have been granted to Afghan nationals.
But, according to a Senate estimates hearing on 14 February, this remains a fraction of the backlog of 7,204 offshore partner visa applications from Afghan nationals as of 31 December last year.
Greens Senator Nick McKim said there was a “massive” human cost to families facing delays of up to years for visas allowing them to reunite with their loved ones.
“It is simply not good enough for these applications languish in the system for many, many years as some of them have,” he told SBS News
“In many cases, we are talking about partners of people who have been accepted as refugees in Australia or partners of Australian citizens and permanent residents.”
The government has also promised an additional 10,000 humanitarian places to Afghan nationals over four years, with around 1,116 of these visas granted so far.
Abdullah said it's hard to put into the words the emotional toll of being separated from his family.
“It is very clear there is no way [we] can go back to Afghanistan,” he said.
“My life and my family’s life would be under threat.”
