Almost 200 Athletes Seek Asylum in Australia After Commonwealth Games
21st May 2018
Authorities in Australia revealed that almost 200 athletes and officials who visited for the Commonwealth Games have sought asylum— a sharp increase from numbers at other recent events.
Since the games in the Gold Coast ended last month, there have been various sightings and reports of missing athletes around the country, mostly involving competitors from African countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Cameroon.
Australia issued 13,600 visas to athletes and team officials for the event. Immigration authorities told a parliament committee that 8,103 people arrived on the visas but only 7,848 have since left. Of the 255 who appear to have remained in the country, 205 are on temporary bridging visas after applying for other visas.