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Reviews and Appeals

VISA REFUSAL APPEAL

Some visa refusal decisions can be appealed and reviewed through the Administrative Appeal Tribunal (AAT) mechanism. Not all visas refusals have merit review right.

Appeal and merit review of visa refusal decisions

There are many factors that may lead to your visa application refusal. Here is a list of main reasons for visa refusals:

You did not meet the visa requirements. For example, you applied for a student visa and your nominated course is totally different to your previous studies or experience. Another example is when you do not provide Australian Federal Police check with your Graduate Work Visa application.
You did not provide required documents or sufficient evidence to demonstrate meeting the visa requirements
You provided wrong or misleading information in support of your visa application
You provided fake or bogus documents to the department
You have not met health and character criteria
The department has adverse information in contrary to your claims
You have not met the conditions of your previous visas
In case of employer sponsored visas, the visa nomination may be refused because the business sponsoring you is not viable, there is no genuine need of the nominated position or the pay is not according to market salary rates and many more.
The case officers may make mistake in their decisions sometimes and refuse a visa application by applying wrong legislation provisions or having incorrect interpretation of the legislation.

In some cases, before making a decision, the Department provides you with a Natural Justice letter, inviting you to comment if they have an intention to refuse your visa application. The Department must consider your comments in their decision whether to refuse you a visa or not.
Note: You have a limited time to respond to a Natural Justice letter. If you don’t respond, the Department will make a decision (usually a refusal decision) based on the available information.

What should I do if my visa application is refused?

First, you need to find out if the refusal decision can be reviewed by the Administrative Appeal Tribunal (AAT). If the decision is reviewable, it is usually indicated on the refusal notification letter. However, it might not be clearly stated on the notification.

If the decision has merits review rights, you can apply for a merit review appeal to the Migration and Refugee Devision of the AAT.

Note: It is important to act quickly when you receive a “natural justice” letter or a “refusal notification”. If you miss the AAT appeal deadline, you might not have any other chance to appeal and review the decision before the AAT. If you are in this situation and need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our registered migration agents have years of experience and a comprehensive knowledge of Australian migration law, so you can be rest assured that you and your case are in capable hands.

VISA CANCELLATION APPEAL

Depending on the ground of the cancellation and location (Being in Australia or overseas) of the visa holder, different mechanisms of cancellation are applied.

Appeal and merit review of visa cancellation decisions

Here are some of the main reasons that a visa may get cancelled:

Breach of the visa conditions and requirements. (In some cases other person’s breach may lead to cancellation)
Visa grant circumstances no longer exists. (For example, changes occurred in family unit)
Providing incorrect information or bogus document in support of the visa application
Being considered as a risk to community regarding health, safety and character
The Department is not satisfied of the identity of the visa holder

There are different provisions for different types of cancellations. For example, if the Department wants to cancel your visa under section 109 of the Migration Act 1958 because of providing incorrect information in your visa application, the Department will send you a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation (NOICC) of your visa. This notice usually includes the detailed grounds for considering your visa cancellation and invites you to comment within a prescribed time limit. Then, the Department will consider whether to cancel your visa or not.

On the other hand, some visas must be cancelled under mandatory cancellation provisions of the Migration Act. For example, if you are sentenced to 12 months or more imprisonment, you may be at risk of your visa having your visa cancelled. However, you are given a chance to apply to revoke the Department’s decision within a prescribed time limit. The Department will make a decision whether revoke the cancellation or not.

What should I do if my visa is cancelled?

If the Department decided to cancel your visa or not to revoke your visa cancellation you may be eligible for appealing the decision to the Administrative Appeal tribunal (AAT).

Depending on the ground of the cancellation, the decision might be reviewed by the General Division of the AAT or Migration and Refugee Division of the AAT. In some cases, such as when the Minister personally has cancelled your visa, you might have no right to appeal the decision at the AAT. However, you may have ground for appealing the decision to the Federal Court of Australia.

Note: It is important to act quickly when you receive a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation (NOICC) letter or a Notice of Cancellation letter. If you miss the AAT appeal deadline, you might not have any other chance to appeal and review the decision before the AAT. If you are in this situation and need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our registered migration agents have years of experience and a comprehensive knowledge of Australian migration law, so you can be rest assured that you and your case are in capable hands.