“They are now in a situation where Odessa is being bombed every week or so.
“The troops are heading towards them. They only have one more city before Odessa, so once that city falls, Odessa will be attacked.”
The Ukrainian port city of Odessa, where the family lives, is dangerously close to being captured by Russian forces. Credit: (Photo AP / Max Pshybyshevsky)
Last week, the family’s visa applications were rejected because they did not meet the immigration requirements and had not “sufficiently demonstrated that they are only planning to visit Australia temporarily, or that their circumstances are an incentive to return to their home country. origin “.
It is estimated that the Australian government rejected hundreds of Ukrainian refugees and that immigration lawyers were working to help several families at once.
Oleh Kovalova with children Veronica, 11, and Vlad, 15.
“When the war started, the Australian government set up this process where you could apply for a visitor’s visa, and once you get to Australia, you can apply for the special refugee visa,” Baptista said.
“Now you can only apply for a special refugee visa, [but] You can only apply for a special refugee visa if you are in Australia.
“What has happened in the last three or four weeks is that they have decided that the Ukrainians, as they intend to stay longer, no longer comply with the rules on visitor visas, which they say must be returned, you.” you are only visiting, you are not staying in Australia “.
This is not the first time the family has been at war. They initially lived in eastern Ukraine in Donetsk, but when Russia invaded the Crimean peninsula in 2014, they moved to Odessa.
“I know the beginning was hard. They had to live in a one-bedroom apartment with a lot of relatives. But then they found work and started rebuilding their lives,” Baptista said.
The situation is now exacerbated by the lack of jobs, Baptista said. Kovalova lost her job in a factory’s human resources department because it closed when the war began.
“Her partner worked at a baby products company, and now with all the kids, babies and moms leaving, they’re actually reducing their hours,” she said.
“They have decided to leave their father because he is not allowed to [because of conscription in Ukraine]. ”
A Home Affairs spokesman said the department would not comment on individual cases, but would prioritize visa applications from Ukrainian nationals, “especially those with a strong personal connection to Australia”.
The department said the applications were assessed on merit and were considered based on the requirements for a visitor visa set out in the legislation.
As of Feb. 23, the department said it had granted more than 8,000 visas, mostly temporary, to Ukrainians and that more than 3,200 visa holders had arrived in Australia.
Tatiana “Tanya” Kovalova hopes to come to Australia to rebuild her life once again with her two children, Veronica, who loves to paint, and Vlad, who enjoys swimming.
Kateryna Argyrou, co-chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations, said that although there were no official statistics on the number of rejected Ukrainians, judging by the number of people who had contacted the group, it would be hundreds.
“The biggest challenge with the visa application process right now is the huge financial burden of medical check-up fees,” Argyrou said.
He said most of the people who came from Ukraine were women and children, and that there were challenges once they landed in Australia.
“Some of them arrive with only a small suitcase in their name, they still don’t have the level of English necessary to enter the world of work immediately and they still have to find a way to take care of their children. “Argyrou said.
The process of transitioning to a 786 visa, which is only available to Ukrainian refugees already in Australia, is also problematic, he said.
“If they can’t afford to pay for medical check-ups, usually between $ 330 and $ 430 per person, or more than $ 1,000 for a mother with two children, they can’t go from visa 449 to visa 786, which provides access to Medicare, “he said.
“So our fear right now is that mothers, babies and the elderly are stuck in limbo and can’t get basic health care or access to GPs, which is very worrying.”
Argyrou said the issue of the medical check-up had been raised and the federation was in talks with Home Affairs trying to find a solution.