Chaos as young African singers locked out of Australia at last minute

A group of young African performers has been left in limbo and a 21-date Australia tour has been thrown into chaos after their applications for temporary visas were knocked back just days before they were set to travel.

The dancers, instrumentalists and singers from Uganda and Kenya were due to arrive in Australia on Saturday. On Wednesday they learnt that their visas had been refused, partly because they had not travelled to Australia previously.

The tour is being organised by KwaYa, an Australian non-profit that organises cultural exchanges and relief efforts between Australia and countries in Africa.

The group of young performers due to arrive in Australia at the weekend.Credit:

KwaYa president Marsha Gusti said the group had organised five successful African Children’s Choir tours of Australia since 2013. She said KwaYa had already outlaid $80,000 on flights, accommodation, transport and marketing for the current tour, most of which was non-refundable.

Gusti said the tour had been expected to raise $600,000 for child sponsorships in African nations, a program now in jeopardy.

“The financial and emotional impact of this decision is immense,” she said. “As a charity, we rely on modest resources and cannot absorb these losses without it affecting other vital programs.”

Gusti said the first emails she received from the Department of Home Affairs were to say Ubuntu Africa’s two older adult tour leaders – who are in their 40s and who had been on all five previous tours – had been granted visas. But then the rejections of the performers, aged in their early to mid-20s, dropped into her inbox.

“My heart went through to my feet and I just thought, ‘I cannot believe this’,” she said. “You can’t imagine how I felt. And you know what else? I was mortified and embarrassed as an Australian. I invited these guys over on an official visit and they’ve just been denied because [the government] think they’re a flight risk, which is absolutely an insult to them. They’re ambassadors for their country.”

A response has been sought from the Department of Home Affairs.

Gusti said among the reasons given by DHA in emailed responses for each of the refusals was that they were not convinced the performers were “genuine entertainers” and that because they had not previously visited Australia, there was no evidence that they had complied with a previous visa.

“It’s just ludicrous,” said Gusti, noting performers on the previous tours had all been first-time visitors to Australia.

“This is not just flawed, it’s discriminatory,” she said. “You’re punishing these young people simply because they haven’t been here yet. How can they ever come, if the system won’t give them a first chance?”

Gusti has obtained a range of letters of support, including one from Liberal member for Port Macquarie Rob Dwyer, calling on Immigration Minister Tony Burke to reconsider the visa refusals.

“These young individuals are not only cultural ambassadors for their country but also advocated for education and community empowerment,” he said. “Denying them this opportunity is not only an injustice for them but a loss for the many Australians who would benefit from this extraordinary cultural and humanitarian exchange.”