Both of those provisions will take effect once a refugee is designated as a designated person. It's our position that it punishes refugees based on their irregular arrival, because the designation occurs when there is an irregular arrival. That, in and of itself, is prohibited under international law.
As to the five-year ban on adjustment to permanent resident status, this also contravenes article 34 of the Refugee Convention, which states that:
The Contracting States shall as far as possible facilitate the assimilation and naturalization of refugees. They shall in particular make every effort to expedite naturalization proceedings and to reduce as far as possible the charges and costs of such proceedings.
So a five-year bar on application for permanent residence, which would then lead to seven to ten years' delay in being reunited with family members, would contravene that provision. It would have a negative impact on the right of separated refugee families to reunite, delaying reunification for seven to ten years. The right to family unity is considered by UNHCR to be a fundamental aspect of effective protection of refugee children. We know that children, especially unaccompanied children, are some of the most vulnerable migrants imaginable. The delay in family reunification could damage both the welfare of the children and their families, as well as the integration prospects for the migrants concerned.
The delay in family reunification would also violate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It states in article 10 that:
...applications by a child or his or her parents to enter or leave a State Party for the purpose of family reunification shall be dealt with by States Parties in a positive, humane and expeditious manner. States Parties shall further ensure that the submission of such a request shall entail no adverse consequences for the applicants and for the members of their family.
The delay in obtaining permanent residence, and then the further delay in ability to sponsor family members, would contravene the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as well.