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The article examines how government delay can cap visa numbers, deter asylum seekers, restrict employment opportunities, and prolong detention, spanning character assessments, transitions to permanency for skilled workers, family reunion processing, and the granting of citizenship.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/on-borrowed-time-challenging-deliberate-government-delay-in-visa-and-citizenship-processing/294716/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/on-borrowed-time-challenging-deliberate-government-delay-in-visa-and-citizenship-processing/294716.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Kurz","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-09-18",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",14,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"How does the article describe delay within Australia’s migration system?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"It characterizes delay as a common, often systematic tool used to shape migration outcomes rather than a merely accidental bureaucratic problem.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"What factors determine whether processing delay is “reasonable”?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"The article explains that courts assess all circumstances, including the purpose of the legislative scheme, practical impacts on applicants, whether delay affects liberty, periods of file inactivity, and whether there is any reasonable justification.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"What legal remedy does the article discuss for unreasonable visa delay?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"It discusses seeking a writ of mandamus to compel the Minister to perform the statutory duty to determine a visa application, with the burden shifting after a prima facie showing of delay.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},294716,1789700779,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":34,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":130,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},2336478945635,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","On borrowed time:  \nChallenging deliberate government delay in visa and citizenship processing  \nJosephine Langbien􀀁 and Laura John  \nHuman Rights Law Centre, Australia  \nAlternative Law Journal 2025, Vol. 50(2) 107–113 © The Author(s) 2025 Article reuse guidelines:  \n[sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)DOI: 10.1177/1037969X251339208  \n[journals.sagepub.com/home/alj](journals.sagepub.com/home/alj)  \nAbstract  \nDelay is a common feature across the migration system. Rarely accidental, it is used by government as a tool to control migration outcomes, informally cap visa numbers, deter asylum seekers, limit employment options and extend periods of detention. This article charts the role of delay in contexts including character assessments, permanency for skilled workers, family reunion and citizenship. It highlights the secondary purposes that delays often serve, and the outcomes of previous legal challenges. While accountability can be sought through litigation or collective action, ultimately government must stop treating its obligation to process visas within a reasonable time as optional.  \nKeywords  \nMigration law, immigration/refugees, constitutional law, administrative law  \nVisa delays plague our migration system. But on closer inspection, what could easily be written off as bureaucratic dysfunction reveals the systematic use of delay by the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) that infiltrates every aspect of a migrant’s journey, from visa processing to citizenship.  \nDelay is used as a tool in the politics of migration to control migration outcomes, informally cap visa numbers, deter asylum seekers, limit employment options and extend periods of detention. Despite the legal requirement to determine valid visa applications within a reasonable time, persistent patterns of delay are evident in the assessment of character requirements, the transition from certain temporary to permanent visas, the processing of family reunion applications and the conferral of Australian citizenship. The result is lengthy visa uncertainty and sometimes protracted periods of immigration detention. In some instances, delays have been exposed conclusively as deliberate. In other  \ninstances, it is argued that deliberate delay can be inferred from data, political context and policy settings.  \nWhere delays occur, the seemingly endless waiting – for liberty, family unity, or safety and stability – has far-reaching consequences for people’s lives. Delays in visa processing exacerbate the distress experienced by applicants, particularly those seeking asylum, and can result in a ‘lethal hopelessness’. 1 The power imbalance between visa applicants and the Department creates the impression that applicants must remain resigned to lengthy delays. Against this backdrop, this article explores the potential for litigation and advocacy to challenge unreasonable delays across the migration system.  \nThe reasonable time requirement  \nA functional migration system requires a consistent and transparent process for issuing visas. For this reason, the  \n1 Mary Anne Kenny, Nicholas Procter and Carol Grech, ‘Mental deterioration of refugees and asylum seekers with uncertain legal status in Australia: Perceptions and responses of legal representatives’ (2023) 69(5) International Journal of Social Psychiatry 1281–2. See also Human Rights Law Centre, Together in Safety: A report on the Australian Government’s separation of families seeking safety (Report, April 2021) 9; Refugee Council of Australia, Delays in citizenship applications for permanent refugee visa holders (Report, October 2015) 7–9.  \nCorresponding author:  \nMs Josephine Langbien, Human Rights Law Centre, 461 Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.  \nEmail: [josephine.langbien@hrlc.org.au](josephine.langbien@hrlc.org.au)  \nMigration Act 1958 (Cth) (the Act) creates obligations on the Minister for Home Affairs (the Minister) to","cbCaifc1eG47A3om","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifc1eG47A3om","pdf",529866,"English","# Delay as a tool in the migration system\n## The reasonable time requirement\n## Visa categories and processing time disparities","[{\"question\":\"How does the article describe delay within Australia’s migration system?\",\"answer\":\"It characterizes delay as a common, often systematic tool used to shape migration outcomes rather than a merely accidental bureaucratic problem.\"},{\"question\":\"What factors determine whether processing delay is “reasonable”?\",\"answer\":\"The article explains that courts assess all circumstances, including the purpose of the legislative scheme, practical impacts on applicants, whether delay affects liberty, periods of file inactivity, and whether there is any reasonable justification.\"},{\"question\":\"What legal remedy does the article discuss for unreasonable visa delay?\",\"answer\":\"It discusses seeking a writ of mandamus to compel the Minister to perform the statutory duty to determine a visa application, with the burden shifting after a prima facie showing of delay.\"}]","On borrowed time - Challenging deliberate government delay in visa and citizenship processing | PDF",18]