Hedieh Jamshidian feared the window to see her mother, living in Tehran under waves of airstrikes, was closing.<\/p>\n
The Australian government had just announced it could block some visa holders from entering the country. So, Jamshidian, a 32-year-old Iranian Australian, decided to act quickly. Within a week she bought her mother, who held a three-month tourist visa, a ticket to Sydney.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought maybe if I wait it out there is no way for us to ever meet again,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Jamshidian\u2019s 76-year-old mother arrived in Australia, via Turkey, days before the federal government\u2019s six-month ban on Iranians with tourist visas<\/a> entering the country came into effect last week.<\/p>\n \u2018I have no way to help. I can\u2019t travel back to Iran and they can\u2019t come here.\u2019 Photograph: Jessica Hromas\/The Guardian<\/p>\n But her older sister and brother-in-law, who were also planning to visit Sydney from Tehran last month, had their tourist visas suspended under the new laws.<\/p>\n \u201cShe and her family are under bombs every minute in Tehran. I\u2019m worried sick for them and I feel like I can in no way support them,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cI have no way to help. I can\u2019t travel back to Iran and they can\u2019t come here, even for a very short time.\u201d<\/p>\n Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n They are among about 6,800 Iranians outside Australia with valid tourist visas affected by the ban, although some may still be given the chance to enter the country under special consideration. The laws, which have enraged refugee and humanitarian advocates, are in response to the government\u2019s concerns that people travelling to Australia on temporary visas could seek to stay permanently because of the war in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Jamshidian, who has lived in Australia for eight years, says the government\u2019s decision makes the country feel like a \u201chome that doesn\u2019t support you\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Australian government was so quick to support this illegal war and shockingly quick to ban Iranian people who might have wanted to shelter from this war temporarily somewhere safer,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t feel this is aligned with the \u2018Australian values\u2019 I committed to when I was granted Australian citizenship, such as \u2018equality of all people\u2019 and \u2018equality of opportunity and a fair go\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Iranian Australians question: \u2018Why us?\u2019<\/p>\n Mahdi, an Iranian Australian in Melbourne, remembers his brother, Hussain, in Tehran telling him not to bother trying to get him a tourist visa to Australia as Israel and US first dropped bombs on the capital.<\/p>\n The 43-year-old, who has been a citizen since 2014, had previously brought his parents and elder brother to Australia for a short stay years ago.<\/p>\n But his recent attempt to invite Hussain and his wife from Iran for a brief stay shortly before the war broke out was rejected.<\/p>\n Hussain, Mahdi explains, lives in an area close to the capital\u2019s government buildings where Israeli and US missiles have struck.<\/p>\n Mahdi hasn\u2019t heard from his brother in more than two weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really concerned about his and his wife\u2019s safety now,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cI just want to bring them here to [give them] some relief, and to see my family here as well, because I cannot travel because of the conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n The Albanese government\u2019s decision to impose the temporary ban has left many in the Iranian Australian community frustrated and confused.<\/p>\n During previous conflicts or invasions, such as those in Ukraine and Gaza, civilians with connections to Australia were encouraged to apply for tourist visas in order to make a quick escape from violence and begin the process of gaining a temporary humanitarian visa.<\/p>\n Jamshidian says the ban doesn\u2019t reflect the Australian values she signed up to as a citizen. Photograph: Jessica Hromas\/The Guardian<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone is in shock, and they say they don\u2019t know what\u2019s the politics behind it. Why [do] they make that mistake to ban Iranians?\u201d Mahdi says.<\/p>\n The government has previously offered Ukrainians and Palestinians humanitarian visa pathways<\/a> for those already in the country with tourist visas.<\/p>\n The Refugee Council reported last month<\/a> that nearly 15,000 temporary visas have been granted to Ukrainians since Russia\u2019s invasion in February 2022, with more than 34,000 people arriving in that time.<\/p>\n More than 1,000 three-year humanitarian visas have been granted to Palestinians arriving in Australia since October 2023.<\/p>\n Department officials revealed in March that the total number of temporary visa holders in the Middle East affected by the US-Israel war on Iran exceeded 40,000. So far, a ban has only been applied to Iranian nationals.<\/p>\n Number of temporary visa holders in Middle East region<\/a><\/p>\n