Since the Labor party came to power in Australia, the visa processing time for student visa (subclass 500_postgraduate research sector) increased from 6 to 15 months.

Nevertheless, there are many Iranian PhD students who have been waiting for more than a year and even years (2_4) due to the unfair lengthy processing time which is being done in much shorter time by other countries.

This frustrating process has put a lot of mental and physical pressure on academics. Despite many efforts made so far (The Guardian​, The Pie news​, Times Higher Education​, Study International​, campaigns,...), inadequate measures have been taken by the government and we're still being ignored of our legal rights.

This is not fair to intentionally ask students to apply for a visa and stall them with no answer whatsoever as to when this endless loop of visa processing that has cost them a lot of time, energy, and money is going to finish.

We, Iranian students, request the Hon Clare O'Neil (the minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security), the Hon Andrew Giles (the minister for Immigration) and the Hon Penny Wong (the minister for Foreign Affairs) to take immediate actions toward our unacceptable situation and put an end to this discrimination ASAP.