Immigration Minister·

Cancel/refuse visas in appropriate circumstances

must be guided by common sense

During yesterday’s Australian Parliament session, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles and Shadow Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews engaged in a heated exchange during Question Time over the government’s visa cancellation practices.

Karen Andrews opened the attack, demanding the Minister provide details on the number of visas cancelled sincehis appointment as Minister following Labor’s federal election victory in May, noting that the Coalition government had cancelled more than 10,000 visas held by non-citizens who posed a threat to the Australian community. She asked: “Minister, how many visas have you cancelled under the character test provisions of the Migration Act?”

Andrew Giles did not provide a specific number,instead stating that the current government supports cancelling visas in appropriate circumstances.

When pressed again for a figure, Andrew said: “It is disappointing that everyone in this Parliament recognises the policy basis we have — that is, the granting of visas, and indeed the cancellation of visas, for non-citizens. Non-citizens should not pose a series of risks to the community,but these matters should not be shamelessly politicised.In fact, many of these issues go to the operation of our migration system — a system that has been shamelessly politicised, and that has been neglected for over nine years.”

“We will only refuse and cancel visas in appropriate circumstances, and we also believe this requires a commonsense approach.”

Compared to his predecessors, this Minister for Immigration is relatively empathetic, straight-talking, and action-oriented. The reduction in the visa application backlog reflects his hard work and dedication.

That said, every coin has two sides.

The rapid pace of approvals has also produced some side effects,including what we’ve mentioned before — the increased risk of inadvertently having a visa overwritten. (See:Recent mass invitations and approvals: once you lodge or your visa is granted, make sure to do this step — don’t let your whole migration journey go to waste…)

–Today we bring another reminder:If you are unable to complete your health examination on time for an offshore visitor visa, you must notify the Department of Home Affairs as soon as possible

and attach proof of your appointment.

Offshore Visitor Visa — a special note for PR/Citizen parents

Applications for temporary visas such as Subclass 500, 600, 485, and 462 lodged offshore still require a health examination.

For the Subclass 600 visitor visa, a single-entry stay of no more than three months generally does not require a health examination.

However, PR/Citizen parents typically choose:— a three-year validity visitor visa,allowing a maximum stay of 12 months per entry,

which requires a health examination and insurance,— or a smaller number choosea one-year validity visa,allowing a maximum stay of 6 months per entry, or a single continuous stay of up to 12months,

which also requires a health examination.

Therefore, regarding health examinations for offshore visitor visas, PR/Citizen parents are especially worth reminding.

We recently reviewed a Subclass 600 visitor visa refusal letter:The reason was failure to complete the health examination on time.Critically, the applicant submitted a statutory declaration to the Department within 28 days of receiving the health examination request, advising they were unable to attend by the deadline and requesting an extension — yet the application was stillrefused because the applicant could not provide proof of a booked health examination appointment.

For various reasons, it may not be possible to book and complete a health examination within 28 days in China. Previously, simply notifying the Department within the timeframe was sufficient. However, during this period — perhaps due to a desire to close cases more quickly or for other reasons —the Department appears to have become less patient and more strict with temporary visa applicants.

Another refusal letter:

Also a visitor visa for PR parents — in some countries, applicants are required toattend in person for fingerprinting and facial recognition to confirm their identity,and this client, having sustained a serious injury, was unable to attend in person.After receiving one extension and still being unable to complete the process, they were quickly refused.

Many people are left wondering: there are oftenobjective circumstances that prevent completion of a health examination or supporting documents within 28 days— what can we do?

Some suggestions for your reference:

–Communicate promptly and proactively with the Department; try to book a health examination appointment first,regardless of whether you are actually able to attend.If you have booked but experience any changes — delays, cancellations, inability to attend — inform the Department promptly,and ideally attach supporting documentation.Rather than simply requesting an extension as before.

— If you genuinely cannot get an appointment and want to play it safe to avoid a refusal record,you may apply to change to a single-entry stay of no more than three months,which does not require a health examination; or evenwithdraw this application first

–If the visa has not yet been lodged and you are confident you can complete the health examination soon,you may use the health declaration function to complete the health examination before lodging the visa,and once completed, the results can be linked directly to the subsequent (Subclass 600) visa application.

Official instructions:

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/supporting/files/my-health-declarations-form.pdf

Once you receive the health examination request, attend the appointment as directed. You can also view your results through eMedical.

Parents are already in Australia and want to stay and reunite?

Read on

Visitor Visa · Bridging Visa

Offshore parent visitor visa:If parents can complete the health examination without issue, Subclass 600 visitor visas lodged offshore for PR/Citizen parents continue to be granted quickly and smoothly, with typical waiting times of 2–4 weeks.

Onshore parent visitor visa:Approvals are also coming through during this period, though processing is slower,which may actually be a good sign.

Parents who have lodged a parent migration visa and are currently in Australia can still apply for a bridging visa,

provided ALL of the following conditions are met:

— A parent migration visa (such as Subclass 143/103) was lodged before 24 March 2021

— At the time of lodging the parent migration visa, the parent held a valid Australian visa (which may be a visitor visa or similar — it does not matter whether they were in Australia or overseas at the time)

— The parent was in Australia at the exact moment of 24 March 2021, is currently inside Australia, and holds a valid visa

Subclass 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) Visa

Processing of Subclass 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visas is also being fast-tracked:

Sponsorship eligibility and visa applications are each being approved in approximately two months, with the entire process reduced to within around six months.

The Subclass 870 visa allows a maximum stay in Australia of 10 years,not as a single continuous period — upon the expiry of the first 5-year grant, the holder must depart Australia for at least 90 days before returning to begin the next 5-year period, for a total of 10 years. At present, if parents are already in Australia, it is still possible to apply for permission first and then lodge the Subclass 870 application onshore on their behalf.

Processing timeline: processing proceeds in two stages — the sponsor (child) obtains sponsorship approval first, then the visa application is lodged

Advantages:No education, work experience, or asset requirements; long onshore stay periods; no family balance test. Single continuous stay of 5 years. Maximum of 2 applications, totalling 10 years.

Disadvantages:Cannot work or study while in Australia on the Subclass 870. A parent migration visa cannot be lodged while holding a Subclass 870 — so parents with migration plans should always lodge the migration visa first before applying for the Subclass 870. The parent must also depart Australia after 5 years onshore before applying again.

Sponsor requirements: the sponsor must be 18 years of age or older and can only be the applicant’s child or the child’s partner.

Sponsor financial requirements:If one sponsor is sponsoring one parent, the sponsor’s income in the financial year prior to the application must be at least AUD 83,454.80. If one person’s income is insufficient, the sponsor’s spouse’s income can be added. The ratio of the sponsor’s income to their spouse’s income must be at least 1:1.

Recent success stories for long-term parent temporary visas

The above covers some of the options for parents to enter Australia quickly or remain in Australia for family reunion.

For information about lodging and tracking parent migration visas, please see:

Why should you at least lodge a Subclass 103 queue application for your parents after getting PR?

After parent migration quotas increased to 8,500, to what extent can approvals be accelerated? New projections are here! Plus FAQs on bridging visas and more.

PR/Citizen Parents

Visitor visa, bridging visa, Subclass 870 long-term visa, or migration visa

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