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Receiving a visa refusal or cancellation from the Department of Home Affairs can come as a shock. It does not necessarily mean the end of your dreams of living or visiting Australia. There may be a way to appeal the decision, so it is vital and important to obtain legal advice.

Direct Migration Experts can help you with the appeal process. There have been many cases where we achieve success. We will guide you, review the decision and assist you with compiling the information you need and help you lodge your appeal and a legal submission.

Appealing a visa decision

You have the right to appeal most visa refusals. However, if you lodged your visa from outside Australia without an Australian sponsor you may not be able to appeal.

Every situation is different, so make sure you carefully read your refusal letter. It will tell you:

  • If you can appeal the decision
  • The time frame which you must appeal the decision.
  • Which organisation you should lodge your appeal with.

If the letter does not give you this information, call one of our experts and we will go through it with you.

The organisation you will need to lodge your appeal with is the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). You need to move quickly as there are strict time limits when applying for a review.

Where the Minister for Immigration refuses your visa on character grounds, you will need to lodge your appeal to the Federal Court.

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Time limits for applying for a review

There are special rules and strict time limits that apply when making an appeal.

Accelerated review of a decision

Where you apply for an accelerated review of a refusal decision under section 501 and 501CA of the Migration Act 1958, the appeal application must be lodged within nine (9) days of receiving the refusal decision when you are:

  • Applying to have the decision reviewed.
  • The applicant who received the visa cancellation.
  • In Australia.

The AAT cannot extend this time limit.

Applying for a review for character test decisions

When you want a review of a visa refusal for a character test decision, you must lodge the application within 28 days of receiving the decision. If the 28 days lapses, you can apply to the AAT for an extension of time by:

  • Sending an email or letter.
  • Applying for a time extension by filling out the extension of time
  • Lodging your review application online.

Once the AAT receives your request for a time extension, it is sent to the Department of Home Affairs (DOHA) and they have 14 days to make a decision.

When the DOHA refuses a time extension, the AAT reviews your application at a hearing. If the DOHA agrees, the AAT will make a decision without holding an AAT hearing.

Cost of an AAT hearing

Application fees for an AAT review are $3000 paid at the time of making your application.

Reviewable appeals

There is no exhaustive list of what reasons the AAT will accept to review but we are specialists in AAT reviews with many successful outcomes.

The following are just a few of the types of decisions the AAT may review.

1

When a visa application is refused.

Two examples of having a visa application refused are:

  • You may be refused a partner visa because you cannot provide sufficient evidence of a genuine, ongoing relationship.
  • Where an employer sponsored visa is refused. There could be a number of reasons for this such as insufficient evidence of a genuine position or being unable to prove they have met requirements; for example, paying the market salary rate or labour market testing.
2

When a visa application is refused.

Two examples of having a visa application refused are:

  • You may be refused a partner visa because you cannot provide sufficient evidence of a genuine, ongoing relationship.
  • Where an employer sponsored visa is refused. There could be a number of reasons for this such as insufficient evidence of a genuine position or being unable to prove they have met requirements; for example, paying the market salary rate or labour market testing.
3

Cancellation of a visa when you are in Australia.

An example is if you have your visa cancelled under s501 for not meeting the character test because of a substantial criminal record.

This may apply if you have been sentenced to imprisonment for 12 months or more, or for short periods of time that cumulatively add up to two years or more.

4

Refusal to revoke the cancellation of a visa when you are in Australia.

This can occur when you do not supply enough evidence of mitigating circumstances when your visa is cancelled because of a criminal record.

5

Visa refusal for submitting false or misleading information.

If you have a visa refused because of false or misleading information, for yourself or any family members, you may be prevented from being granted a visa for three years. This is also called a non-grant period.

If this is the case, you need to know if a waiver may apply for either:

  • Compelling reasons that affect Australia.
  • Compelling or compassionate reasons that affect an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
6

Notice of intention to cancellation.

Where a Notice of Intention to Cancel an Australian visa has been issued by the Department of Home Affairs, the following are some reasons you may receive one:

  • Non-compliance with visa conditions.
  • Someone else not complying.
  • Fake documents or incorrect information.
  • Risk to community public health, safety or good order.
  • Non-genuine students.
  • Not satisfied as to your identity.
  • Incorrect information outside of a visa application.
  • Visa granted based on a facts/circumstance that no longer exist/did not exist.

Assessment of appeal rights

Contact Direct Migration Experts when you have a visa refusal or cancellation. We are specialists in this area and can determine your eligibility to appeal the decision.

We know how important your visa is to you, so call our friendly team today on 1300 015 592 to set up a consultation.

One of our experts will provide you with the information you need and help you every step of the way through the process.

Please complete the form below to download our free AAT Guide

Name(Required)
Have you received an Australian visa refusal or cancellation?(Required)
MM slash DD slash YYYY
What is the visa class that has been cancelled or refused (ie subclass 820 Partner visa, Subclass 482 Employer Sponsored visa etc)?
Visa Cancellation or Refusal Notice
Max. file size: 128 MB.
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