At a rally in Melbourne, Indian-born engineer Brijesh Batra shares his story of a life left in limbo by bureaucratic red tape.
"Very uncertain, unstable. we don't know when we will buy the house, when we will feel settled. I am 43. I don't know when things will take a good turn you know. each decision in life is based on once we get the permanent residency. We will do this, we will do that. Until then we are not sure what the future will be, you know."
An analysis by the Migrant Workers Centre paints a grim picture of the quest by new migrants to make Australia truly their own home.
Its report finds there has been a six-fold increase in the number of bridging visa holders...with the processing time for the 887 sub-class skilled regional visa doubling to two years.
Those applying for the 186 employer-sponsored visa are waiting around a year while the centre's chief executive Matt Kunkel says those on 189 skilled independent visas face a 39-month wait time to become a permanent resident.
"There are tens of thousands of people around the country still waiting for their visa. We saw people here today, 15 months, 20 months are still waiting and no ability to kind of move on with their lives. So we've got large numbers of people right around the country, just waiting by the phone for that call to let them live their lives. They are still considered as foreign residents despite being in this country for many years. Paying tax here for many years. They have none of the benefits the rest of us enjoy as taxpayers in Australia."
And with more workers needed from overseas to tackle labour shortages, there's little relief in sight for the mounting visa queues.
Rally organisers have called on the Department of Home Affairs to prioritise the processing of visas for those already living here in Australia - some for up to five years.
