The Federal Opposition will today announce the next phase of the immigration policy it will take to the federal election.

As expected, the Howard government's temporary protection visas will be back, but there will be a new element. Visa holders who are eligible for welfare would have to work for it.

"What you'll see is the same resolve from this Coalition in government that you saw from the Coalition last time in government," Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said.

"There's one of the many bows that you need and arrows that you need to deal with this very difficult problem."

He says the temporary protection visas will last for no more than three years. After that time, if the visa holder still cannot go home, they will be granted an extension or permanent residency.

As it was during the Howard years, the visa holders will not have family reunion rights, but they will be able to work and have access to Medicare.

They will have to attend English language classes after a year and they will have access to limited income support, but there is a new catch in the form of mutual obligation - visa holders will have to work for welfare.

"In the same way that others are required to do work for the dole and things of that nature, we think that is only fair that those same requirements should apply to those receiving these benefits," Mr Morrison said.

Mr Morrison said the Coalition would do away with the Government's recent freeze on visa applications for Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers, which he said was discriminatory.

A Coalition government would also reintroduce the 45-day rule that was abolished by the Rudd Government. It means asylum seekers who take more than 45 days to lodge a refugee claim will not be allowed to work or access Medicare.

"We can't have the situation where people at the end of their visas - which may be for anything from working holidays to student visas to any form of visas - simply decide that at the end of their visa they don't want to go home and seek to lodge an asylum claim," Mr Morrison said.

He admits the policies are a return to the Howard era and says they have been openly discussed within the party and approved by the shadow cabinet.

Moderates within the Coalition such as Judith Troeth have previously said such policies punish the victims and not the people smugglers, but Mr Morrison disagrees.

"But we're an open party, we're a tolerant party and people have different views," he said.

Mr Morrison says it is difficult to say how quickly the policies could stop asylum seeker boats arriving in Australian waters and he did not rule out a return to the Pacific Solution.

"[The policies] were very effective last time but if it requires more than clearly a government who has a resolve to stop boats, well we'll do it," he said.