00:00A phone call that only emphasises the distance between them.
00:15Mohammed has watched his children grow up on a screen for almost 12 years.
00:26He set up an incomplete life in Hobart, a long way from his family in Afghanistan, a
00:32place he fled, facing persecution as a Hazara after his brother was killed by the Taliban.
00:46Mohammed is the human face of an intense political debate.
00:50He arrived in Australia by boat in 2012, a perilous method that resulted in countless
00:57deaths of people desperate for a better life.
01:01In 2013, the coalition cracked down on people smuggling with Operation Sovereign Borders,
01:07a policy of turning back boats and declaring anyone who arrived illegally would not be
01:13allowed to permanently settle in Australia.
01:16Mohammed was left in limbo.
01:18It meant that he didn't have the same rights as anyone with a permanent visa had, and that
01:23also meant that he didn't have the right to apply for his wife and children to come with
01:27him.
01:28I lost my hope.
01:30I lost your hope and I think, oh, not coming that day to have my family with me.
01:37But after more than a decade, Mohammed's hopes lifted.
01:41A legal change meant 19,000 refugees on particular visas could apply for permanent residency.
01:49And if that was successful, he could then sponsor his family to come to Australia.
01:55So they got to work, getting Mohammed a permanent visa, then making a case for a unification.
02:03They won.
02:04Hi Mohammed, how are you?
02:06And I asked three, four times from the Patriot, are you OK?
02:12Got some very good news.
02:14This is right.
02:15The case has been successful and the visa's been granted.
02:19My family got a visa, they are coming.
02:23He said yes, yeah.
02:29At Hobart Airport, Mohammed eagerly waits.
02:33This is a moment he's dreamt of for years.
02:37His eldest son, now 23 years old, the first to be embraced.
02:44Completely changed the life, to be honest.
02:49When we live alone, it was so hard, but now it's very, I'm very happy, you know.
02:59More than 17,000 people in positions similar to Mohammed have now moved on to a permanent visa.
03:07It does show the impact that immigration laws have on people's life, both positive and negative.
03:13I'm very happy and I wish to everyone is living with family and together.
03:19Life with family going very, very well.
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