With respect to the media release VPS 122/2004 by the Minister on 24 August 2004 headed ‘New TPV Measurers to Commence on 27 August 2004’:

(1)   Since that announcement: (a) how many Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) holders and Temporary Humanitarian Visa (THV) holders have applied for mainstream migration visas; (b) how many such applications have been successful; (c) how many such applications have been rejected; and (d) how many such applications are still under consideration.

(2)   What is the average time taken to determine such an application.

(3)   How does this time compare with that taken to process migration visas from other than TPV or THV holders.

(1) (a)   to (d) As expected, only small numbers of temporary protection visa holders and offshore temporary humanitarian visa holders are applying for mainstream visas so far.  Most of these people are awaiting the outcome of their further protection visa applications as this offers the prospect of obtaining permanent residence and access to attractive settlement services and welfare support if needed.         As at 25 February 2005, 20 applications for mainstream visas have been lodged (covering 35 people). 8 applications (18 people) have been finalised with 15 permanent visas granted, 1 temporary visa granted and 1 application (covering 2 people) withdrawn as the applicants were granted permanent protection visas.         The visas granted are:         12 Subclass 856 Employer Nomination Scheme (Permanent) visas         1 Subclass 801 Spouse (Permanent) visa         2 Subclass 857 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (Permanent) visas         1 Subclass 422 Medical Practitioner (Temporary) visa

(2)   The average time taken to finalise applications from TPV/THV holders applying for mainstream skilled employer sponsored visas has been from two to three months.

(3)   The time taken to process any visa application will vary according to the criteria needed to be satisfied and the number and type of standard checks required eg health and character checks which vary according to the background and circumstances of the visa applicant and their dependants.  To date the processing time experienced by TPV/THV holders is on a par with the median processing time of onshore applications lodged under the same programs from non TPV/THV holders.