As debate heats up over the government's focus on border security, Sydney-based Immigration Lawyer Judy Hamawi explains the difference in approach towards asylum seeker arrivals by plane and boat.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday night defended his intense focus on asylum seekers who arrive by boat when thousands more people arrive by plane each year asking for Australia's protection.
For the past several weeks, the prime minister has accused Labor of weakening border security by making it easier for asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru to seek medical treatment in Australia.
On Monday, he was pressed on how allowing "a handful" of people into the country would undermine border protection, when allowing thousands to enter by plane would not.
"People don't die on planes. They die on boats," Mr Morrison told the ABC's 7:30 program.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Source: AAP
Ms Hamawi said there were "clear differences" between those who arrived by plane and by boat, and a lot had to do with whether they had passed a character test during their application for a visa.
Non-Australians who board planes bound for Australia must present a visa, which would have been obtained after completing a series of criteria during the lodgement process - one being a character test.
She said boat arrivals are considered a "risk" and are treated differently because the government sees them as people who are "forcing themselves on Australia".
”The government considers those arriving by boats illegal maritime arrivals, they are sent offshore to process their applications," she told SBS Arabic24.
"On the Other hand, those who have come by plane have already undergone character and health tests and therefore are allowed to stay in Australia while their applications for asylum are processed.”
The debate comes following the release of figures by the Department of Home Affairs which found that since 2013-14, more than 64,000 people have come to Australia by plane and applied for a protection visa.
"The numbers are not surprising, the protection onshore visa that international students and tourists seek after landing in Australia is the most abused visa," Ms Hamawi said.
"Some of those 64,000 are genuine refugees in need of protection as they can't return home after circumstances change while they are in Australia on valid visas."
The government is bracing for hundreds of people on Manus Island and Nauru to come to Australia for medical treatment after Labor and the crossbench passed the 'Medevac' laws giving doctors greater input.
Source: DHA
Who is applying for protection visas?
According to figures from the Department of Home Affairs, there were 27,931 protection visa applications lodged in 2017-18, compared to 18,290 in the previous year.
People from Malaysia made up the largest group applying for protection visas in Australia in 2017-18 with 9319, followed by China with 9315.
However, only 1425 protection visas were granted in 2017-18, of which people from Iraq, Pakistan and Libya account for the biggest numbers.
-With AAP
Source: DHA
