Aust minister has not 'approved' Bobby Vylan visa after IDF chant at Glastonbury

Soofia Tariq July 03, 2025
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A false claim about an Australian visa for Bobby Vylan after his controversial Glastonbury set. Image by Yui Mok/AP PHOTO

WHAT WAS CLAIMED

Tony Burke has confirmed he will approve a visa for Bobby Vylan.

OUR VERDICT

False. The immigration minister has not confirmed he'll approve a visa for the artist, who has no upcoming shows in Australia.

AAP FACTCHECK - Australia's immigration minister has not confirmed he will approve a visa for Bobby Vylan, the UK musician who led chanting against the Israeli military at the Glastonbury music festival, despite false rumours online.

Mr Vylan is the frontman of punk rap duo Bob Vylan, who have no upcoming tour dates listed for Australia.

Claims appeared on Facebook following their controversial set at the English festival, which included on-stage chants of "death, death to the IDF", a reference to the Israel Defence Forces and the war in Gaza.

False Facebook claim Tony Burke has approved visa for Bobby Vylan
False claims about Bobby Vylan and an Australian visa are doing the rounds on social media. (Facebook/AAP)

The duo have since had their US visas revoked, had various gigs cancelled, been dropped by their booking agent, and are being investigated by UK police. 

"Tony Burke has confirmed he will be approving Bobby Vylan's visas ahead of his OZ tour," the post reads. 

"Tony Burke recently didn't allow Israeli ministers to visit Australia."

Another post accuses the minister of wanting to "kiss the boots" of "every Hamas sympathizer", and implies he has already granted Vylan a visa.

"Tony Burke, Albo and Wong wake up!!" the caption concludes.

"Withdraw Vylan's visa now!"

There's no evidence, however, to support these claims. 

AAP FactCheck traced the first claim back to a now-deleted post on X from a user who has previously posted unsubstantiated claims about Australian politics.

A search of the Department of Home Affairs website for the term "Bob Vylan" shows Mr Burke has not made any comments about the band.

The duo have not scheduled any upcoming tour in Australia, after visiting in January to appear as an opening act for local band Amyl and the Sniffers.

Tony Burke arrives for Question Time
There's no evidence that Immigration Minister Tony Burke has approved a visa for Bobby Vylan. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)

AAP FactCheck reached out to Mr Burke's office to verify the claim about Bobby Vylan's visa status and was referred to the Department of Home Affairs.

A departmental spokesperson told AAP FactCheck the minister had not approved a visa for the musician and had not confirmed that he would.

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Sources

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AAP FactCheck is an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network