Exit and entry exemption updates change like flipping a face – a new look every month – and the weather’s changed again recently,if entry exemptions have kept up their usual strictness.Exit exemptions have suddenly fallen into step with that strictness too – lately there have been more refusals than approvals.
What’s really going on? Why has exit exemption suddenly become so strict? How should applicants adjust accordingly? Newstars brings you the first-hand information!
1. Exit exemptions have become stricter,Recently, a lot of people who tried DIY exit exemption applications and got refused have come to me. Applications that would previously have been approved within 3 months of the declared departure date are now being refused – even with a job offer. Where’s the problem? In the documentation. Many people simply assume exit exemptions are easy, throw together a handful of documents and submit them – and the result is a painful lesson learned.
2. From February, new approval letters have quietly added a “time limit” – departure must occur within 3 months,to stop people who apply for an exemption from holding a spot and then delaying their departure indefinitely.
3. You might argue,“I was in the earlier batch that got approved, and my letter didn’t mention any departure timeframe at all” – but ABF officers do have discretionary power,and if the daily departure quota is full, you might genuinely not be able to leave.It’s been borne out in practice: people departing after the 3-month mark have indeed been stopped at the airport and turned away, forced to reapply.(If you were lucky enough to depart on an old exemption letter, please get in touch with Newstars too)
Exit exemptions approved in January ’21 vs February ’21
The approval letter for a successful January exemption (no departure time limit yet) ↓↓↓
The approval letter for a successful February exemption (a validity period appears for the first time)↓↓↓
As forthe entry exemption criteria remain unchanged for now.Currently,the international student groupis still mainlyrelying on medicine, dentistry, nursing, or health-related university programmes –final-year students who need to undertake a placement, and who provide evidence showing they need to begin that placement at an Australian hospital or healthcare facility within the next two months,can obtain an entry exemption (we already have successful cases).
This addition is undoubtedly good news for final-year healthcare graduates. Many nursing and healthcare graduates stuck at home and unable to return to Australia to complete their placement should seize this opportunity and apply as soon as possible.If you hold a temporary residence visa such as a Subclass 485/489/491 and have a job or job offer in a critical sector, you can also contact me for an assessment.
Below, let’s review once morethe overall requirements for exit or entry exemptionsandNewstars’ lightning-fast success stories, with the cases chosen all fairly classic ones.
Subclass 189 EOI by occupation
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Exit exemption
Let’s first look at what kind of grounds qualify for an exit exemption. Who has the authority to grant one?
The exemption isn’t decided by the Department of Home Affairs or a visa officer – it’s decided by the Australian Border Force (ABF) commander.
a. Your country of usual residence is outside Australia (living and working)
b. You are aircraft or vessel crew, or personnel involved in the safety maintenance of aircraft or vessels
c. Personnel responsible for goods entering and leaving Australia daily
d. Travel related to essential work required overseas
e. Official government business travel (including Department of Defence personnel)
If you don’t meet any of the above, you can apply for an exit exemption on one of the following grounds:
f. People travelling as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including providing assistance – for example, special industries, medical, public health, etc.
g. People who are critical to the operation of key industries and businesses (including import/export).
h. People travelling to receive urgent medical treatment not available in Australia.
i. People attending to urgent and unavoidable personal business
j. On compassionate or humanitarian grounds (such as birth, illness, or death, etc.)
k. Travel that is in the national interest
Originally, the most commonly used grounds for ordinary PR holders were a and d; ABF has now added grounds f through k, relaxing the policy considerably.But why are so many people still being refused – sometimes several times over? Some people get approved very quickly, and beyond having a reasonable ground that can convince the ABF officer, plus supporting evidence,preparing the documentation and explaining the reasons is the top priority!
Below are some fairly classic exit exemption cases we’ve helped clients secure over this period!
Departing to visit a seriously ill family member
Case 1: Departing to visit a seriously ill family member. The client was an Australian PR holder; the family member was receiving hospital treatment in China, and the client was extremely worried about their condition and needed to depart immediately. After careful preparation, the application was approved within half an hour of submission
Returning home to hold a wedding
Case 2: The applicant was an Australian PR holder with a full-time job; her boyfriend was in China, and the couple were planning to hold their wedding in China at year’s end. The applicant had been worried the application wouldn’t be approved, having heard that other agents had submitted similar “returning home to marry” applications that were refused. We prepared the documentation thoroughly based on her actual circumstances, and the application was approved within 2 hours of submission on the same day
Travelling overseas to scope out a business
Case 3: The applicants were a couple planning to start a small business in Australia who needed to travel to Singapore to scope it out. The clients had lodged an application themselves once already and been refused – the stated reason being that since the business already existed in Australia, there was no need to travel overseas to investigate it. After taking on the case, we dug deep into the necessity of the overseas business trip and prepared a detailed itinerary, ultimately helping the clients successfully secure this valuable exit exemption.
Urgently returning home to handle business matters
Case 4: The applicant was an Australian PR holder who was the legal representative of a company in China. The company was facing operational obstacles requiring the applicant to rush back to China to resolve pressing issues. After careful preparation, the application was successfully approved the day after submission,
Returning home to give birth
Case 5: The whole family held Australian PR (green card); the wife was expecting her second child with no one in Australia to help care for her, while many relatives were in China, so the whole family decided together to return home, with the wife giving birth in China. After weighing up the risks of returning home and preparing carefully, we secured approval on the first attempt.
Entry exemption
If you are an Australian citizen, permanent resident, an immediate family member of an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen usually resident in Australia, you can come to Australia.
If you are an immediate family member holding a temporary visa, you’ll need to provide the Department of Home Affairs with evidence of the family relationship.
Immediate family relationships to an Australian citizen or permanent resident that the Department of Home Affairs recognises include:
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Spouse
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De facto partner
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Dependent child
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Legal guardian
Note: parents are not included within the scope of immediate family
The question we get asked most often is how parents can apply for an exemption to come and help mind grandchildren (if the reason given is simply that both parents in Australia work full-time and no one is available to mind the children, so the grandparents need to be brought over to help – sorry, but this reason will basically not be approved)BUT Newstars has still successfully helped a good number of grandparents obtain entry approval.
If you don’t meet any of the above criteria, is it still possible to enter Australia? The answer is yes
Holding a work visa and employed in a critical sector
If you can demonstrate that your job falls within one of Australia’s critical sectors, you also have a chance of obtaining an entry exemption.For example,holders of employer-sponsored visas, Subclass 485 Graduate Work visas, and similar groups still have a chance to use this ground to obtain an entry exemption.
These industry sectors cover many categories of work, includ--ing medical technology, infrastructure, telecommunications, engineering, logistics and supply chain, agricultural technology, food production, and the maritime industry, among others.In short, any industry that can help Australia’s economic recovery has a chance,and these industries also include finance, manufacturing at large companies, film and television production, and emerging technology.It’s not hard to see the Australian Government’s stance: pandemic control must be maintained, but the economy cannot be allowed to collapse either. If you’re in one of the fields above, please get in touch with us quickly – Newstars will help you successfully secure your gold-medal entry exemption.
Some international students
The Department of Home Affairs is also giving international students a chance to return – though of course, only some international students,if they are final-year students in medicine, dentistry, nursing, or health-related university programmes, and provide evidence showing they need to begin a placement at an Australian hospital or healthcare facility within the next two months, they can obtain an entry exemption.(It seems the government is still giving preferential treatment to medical and healthcare professionals.) This addition is undoubtedly good news for final-year healthcare graduates. Many nursing and healthcare graduates stuck at home and unable to return to Australia to complete their placement should seize this opportunity and apply as soon as possible.
Other international students shouldn’t lose heart either – it’s clear the entry criteria are gradually loosening, which is a very positive sign.
Below are some fairly classic entry exemption cases
Subclass 188 not yet granted
Case 1: The applicant had just lodged a Subclass 188A visa application and returned home on a Bridging Visa B. We all know that under the new policy, clients already granted a 188A can return – but those who have only lodged the 188A without a grant find it very difficult. We provided extensive evidence of the applicant’s importance to the ongoing development and operation of their Australian company, along with third-party letters of support, and the application was approved very quickly, within a week of submission.
Subclass 485,IT network design engineer, employed in Australia
Case 2: The applicant held a Subclass 485 visa and worked as an IT network design engineer, employed in Australia in a role falling within the Department of Home Affairs’ critical sector categories. The company provided all supporting employment documentation, and together with our professional analytical explanation letter, this convinced the border officer, and the exemption application was ultimately successful.
Grandmother bringing her Australian-citizen grandchild back to Australia for school
Case 3: A grandmother bringing her citizen grandchild in for school. During the Australian holidays, the grandmother had taken her grandchild home for a holiday, only to be caught out by the pandemic and unable to return. The child’s parents were also unable to travel to collect the child and bring them back to Australia due to illness and work commitments, so they came to us for help applying for an entry exemption for the grandmother. The application was approved within 5 days of submission.
A PR holder’s partner, partner migration application not yet lodged
Case 4: The partner of a PR holder (Subclass 820 visa not yet lodged). The couple were only engaged and hadn’t lodged a partner visa application – under normal circumstances, a case like this would have no chance of obtaining an entry exemption. After taking on this case, we carefully examined the couple’s relationship, gathered a great deal of evidence demonstrating that the couple could not be separated, and ultimately secured the exemption in one shot.
In short, whether it’s exit or entry exemptions in Australia, if you want to know whether you have a chance, or whether it’s worth attempting, feel free to contact me! We have successful case studies covering all kinds of situations on hand – we wish everyone a speedy return to Australia!
PS. If you’re interested in joiningthe “#Entry Exemption Information Group#”,feel free to add the QR code belowand note “Entry” as your remark, when requesting to join the group!The Prime Minister says: once vaccination becomes widespread, is Australia likely to open its borders? Broader overseas travel in 2022 seems increasingly realistic!
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