A tiny breach of your Australian visa conditions can lead to visa cancellation or refusal. We appeal visa cancellations and refusals, and represent clients before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal or the Federal Court. We also assist with Ministerial Intervention applications.
How to Start…
Our process starts with an initial consultation. It is completely confidential – we never disclose to anyone what you tell us.
When you ring us for the first time, we’ll ask you to tell us briefly about your problem. Based on this, we can tell you the cost of our initial legal consultation and advice. If our price is acceptable, we can book in our initial legal consultation.
At the consultation, we tell you how we see your case. We won’t just tell you what we think you want to hear. We will give you our honest opinion. If your case is hopeless, there is little point in spending money on it. But if there is a reasonable chance of success, then we will explain your options, the benefits of hiring us, and we will do our best to give you a fixed price quote.
Deadlines
If you receive an unfavourable decision from the Department of Immigration, there are strict deadlines to take action. The deadline depends on your case, but if you miss it, you can’t appeal.
Read about the type of cases we help with
AAT reviews and Federal Court appeals
If your visa application has been refused or your existing visa has been cancelled, you might be able to appeal the decision. If you win the appeal, your will be given a visa or your cancelled visa will be returned to you.
We see many visa refusals, particularly in the partner (family), student and employer nomination streams. Many applications are refused because applicants don’t have enough evidence to back their claims. For example, de-facto couples don’t show proof as to the earliest date on which their de-facto relationship began. Or students dont’ prove that they are coming to Australia genuinely for the purpose of study (and not permanent migration). Many of these initial visa refusals can be successfully appealed.
We also come across many visa cancellation cases. A great number of these happen because the Immigration Department finds out that the visa holder previously supplied false information or documents to support an earlier visa application. In many other cases, visas are cancelled on character grounds. This means the visa holder has committed a crime. With the right evidence, visa cancellations can be successfully challenged.
Please take the time to read our detailed appeals page here, and contact us for more information.
Character test
Before you can be granted a visa you must be able to pass the so called “character test“.
Most people think the character test is just about proving that you have never been in jail for 12 months or more. This is incorrect. The character test is much more than that. For example, even if you have not spent a single day in jail, the Immigration Department may believe that there is a risk that you would commit a crime if you were allowed to enter (or remain) in Australia. They can refuse your application on this basis. Or, they can refuse you based on traffic offences. Remember: the Immigration Department has very broad powers when it comes to the character test.
Visa applicants who do not pass this requirement may still be able to get a visa, but they must provide detailed written submissions which convince the Immigration Department that a visa should still be granted. Alternatively, in most cases it is possible to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal or the Federal Court. We represent clients before the Tribunal and the Court in order to reverse the Immigration Department’s unfavourable decision.
The character test can also become relevant if you already hold a visa. We see many Australian permanent residents who lose their visa because they commit a crime in Australia. In most cases, the Immigration Department can decide whether or not the visa should be cancelled. But in some instances, the Immigration Department has no discretion: the visa must be cancelled.
We have been helping people with very difficult character test problems. This includes clients who are currently applying for a visa but have a substantial criminal history. It also includes clients in immigration detention who have held a visa before, but the Immigration Department cancelled their visa.
Find more details on our dedicated page and our blog article here.
Ministerial intervention
When all else fails, it may be possible to apply for Ministerial Intervention to grant a visa. It is very rare that the Minister decides to intervene. To maximise your chances of success, you will need to demonstrate that there are exceptional and unique circumstances which warrant the intervention.
Many applications for intervention never make it to the Minister. There are set guidelines based on which officials of the Department of Immigration can refuse the application and prevent it from going to the Minister.
If you wish to apply for intervention, we can assist in advising you about your prospects of success, and then drafting your submissions for you. If we decide to accept your case, we will carry out all necessary interviews, investigations and document reviews to ensure that our submissions get before the Minister so that a favourable decision can be made.
You can read more about Ministerial interventions here or contact us for a consultation.
Partner migration
Are you interested in partner migration?
If your spouse or de-facto partner is an Australian Citizen, Australian Permanent Resident or eligible NZ citizen, you can apply for a Partner visa to join your partner in Australia.
Click here to access our dedicated partner migration page.
