Australian VISA Appeals & Reviews Migration Agents, Immigration Lawyers & Consultants
A brief overview of visa appeals & reviews
If an applicant wants to alter their visa details or if they want another chance at a rejected visa, then they may appeal to the Appeals Administration Tribunal or the AAT. They will review a decision the Immigration department has made and they have the authority and ability to completely change or slightly alter a decision that has been made before. The applicant, after submitting the request for the review will have to attend a hearing. Upon attending the hearing, the AAT will make its decision based on information the applicant has to send them. This information has to come with an appeal letter. In it, the applicant must appeal against the negative decisions and should strongly and represent why the applicant believes that the decision to reject or alter the visa is incorrect and why the AAT should overturn that decision.
The process of VISA appeals & reviews (The Administrative Appeals Tribunal AAT)
Most of the time, only the visa applicant or former holder of the visa can apply for a review. Other than that in other cases, it can either be a direct relative or a sponsor. Sometimes the applicant should be present in Australia during the time the decision is made regarding the review or at the time the application for the review is submitted or even both. Advice on individual cases cannot be provided however, advice should be available from a registered migration agent or another registered provider.
If the applicant wants to apply for a review of the visa, then an
“Application for Review” form should be completed and submitted along with the application fee allotted for the review within a given time limit. Immigration detention applicants should use the form “Application for Review – Migration (For persons in immigration detention)” On the other hand, all other individuals should fill out the form “Application for Review (For persons not in immigration detention)”. Individuals can apply for this review through a number of methods. Individuals may send the application via fax, email, online website or even in person.
When submitting applications, family members can usually combine their applications for the review. If a grant visa is denied, then a related application for review of a decision to refuse to grant a visa can also be combined with an Application for review of a decision to require a security.
When a situation where multiple applications can be combined presents itself, then the applicants only have to pay for only one application. Also, in terms of the forms, only one single form is required to be filled and submitted.
A fee for reviewing applications must be paid unless applications that are for review of bridging visa decisions (Which includes any related decision regarding requiring a security) that are submitted by individuals in immigration detention.
For the remaining cases however, the application fee is AUD 1826. This application fee can be reduced by 50% if the department is satisfied that the full payment has either cause or is liable to cause severe financial problems for the applicant submitting for the review.
In addition, the department states that they can refund 50% of the total payment if they review the submitted application and determine a favourable outcome for the applicant’s case.
If the applicant wants to reduce the fee of the review application, then he must either use the website or visit the other offices that hold the “Request for fee reduction – MR Division forms” and are readily available.
An applicant must submit this along with evidence that supports their case in document form along with the fee reduction applications.
If the application submitted for review is withdrawn, then the department can refund an application on very rare moments.
With regard to seeking aid regarding the applicant’s case, the department states that the matter of seeking aid concerning the applicant’s case, it is up to the applicant themselves to decide on whether or not they decide to seek assistance from external third parties. The departments informs that their goal is to make sure that the outcome of the reviews is not affected regardless of the applicant being accompanied by a migration agent or other person to help them.
The “Immigration assistance” provision is controlled via the Migration Act. There only a few qualified individuals who can provide immigration assistance (This is defined as using one’s experience or knowledge in the procedure of migration to aid in preparing, advising and representing a sponsor, a visa applicant, a nominator or an applicant of a cancellation review.) They are;
- A registered immigration agent.
- A sibling, child or partner.
- The sponsor or nominator of an applicant for a visa.
- A parliamentarian.
- An individual who holds a consular post or who holds a post in an international organization or a member of a diplomatic mission.
- An official designated by Part 3 of the Migration Act.
FAQ; VISA appeals & reviews
- How do I write an appeal letter for a visa? (downloadable link)
- Can you appeal a visitor visa refusal Australia?
- How long does a visa appeal take Australia?