Immigration

In February 2018, the Home Affairs Department introduced the Identity Matching Services Bill into parliament. This bill, if passed, will allow the Department of Home Affairs to collect, use and disclose information relating to the identity of individuals through biometric facial recognition software. Government departments and some private entities will be allowed to access and…

Refugees are persons who are outside their country of origin and who are unable to return due to a well-founded fear of persecution on the basis of any of the following grounds: Religion; Race; Nationality; Political opinion; Membership of a particular social group; The definition of a refugee is contained in the Refugees Convention 1951,…

What is the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA)? On 20 December 2017, the Federal Government formally re-established the Department of Home Affairs to replace the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. The whole-of-government change was announced by the Prime Minister on 20 July 2017. A Ministry of Home Affairs was originally created at Federation (1901)…

Written by Tanguy Mwilambwe and Chantal McNaught On 18 April 2017, the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton announced that there will be no more Temporary Work (Skilled) Visas subclass 457. At the same time, they announced that from 19 April 200 occupations will be removed from the Consolidated Sponsored Occupation List…

Written by Tanguy Mwilambwe and Chantal McNaught In case you have not heard, Trump’s immigration ban is dead, for now. But what about Australia? Can we implement a similar law preventing people from entering and remaining in the country on the basis of their passport or where they have recently travelled? As it turns out,…

A skilled migrant visa allows skilled people to work and live in Australia. SkillSelect is Australia’s General Skilled Migration program. It is a points-based system and is the most popular visa application pathway for skilled workers. SkillSelect allows you to apply for a permanent Australian visa, such as a Skilled Independent Visa subclass 189. You…

For many visa applications, the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA) assesses visa applicants’ English language proficiency. Visas which require you to do an English language test include employer-sponsored and skilled migration visa program categories. In some circumstances, a visa applicant can satisfy the English language proficiency requirement without sitting a test. These are in circumstances if…

Bridging visas in Australia are simply transitory visas which permit you to remain in Australia for a certain period of time. Generally, bridging visas follow the expiration of your current substantive visa, such as a Student Visa, while waiting for an application for another substantive visa to be processed. Bridging visas can be granted in…

Judicial review of migration decisions is a process undertaken by the federal courts. It involves the court examining the lawfulness of a migration decision made by a decision-maker, usually the Administrative Appeals Tribunal or an inferior court. Judicial review is typically used to remedy errors of law which affect the authority of the decision-maker to…

International movement records are records which the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA) keep on all persons travelling into and out of Australia. Section 489 of the Migration Act 1958 creates a database which contains information kept concerning to the entry and departure of people to and from Australia. Access to your own international movement records…

The Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) requirement assesses student visa applicants’ intention to enter and remain in Australia temporarily. This article looks at what factors the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA) uses to determine if student visa applicants meet the GTE requirement. GTE assessment factors Section 499 of Ministerial Direction Number 69 directs DoHA’s decision-makers to take…

The Resident Return Visa is for current or former Australian Permanent Residents and former Australian citizens who wish to travel overseas after their travel facility has expired or return to Australia as a Permanent Resident. Every Permanent Residency visa has a travel facility valid for five years which allows Permanent Residents to travel to and…

In August 2015, close to 600 visa holders who had been convicted of violent crimes, drug trafficking and paedophilia were deported from Australia by Immigration Minister, Peter Dutton. This was at the heels of policies being passed in which non-citizens, including Permanent Residents, would imperatively lose their visas if they failed the character test. This…

The new streamlined Student Visa subclass 500 has replaced the old student visa system on 1 July 2016 and is designed to make student visa applications more straightforward. Generally, the Department of Home affairs (DoHA) assesses applications on the basis of the education provider and the intended course of study, as well as country of passport.…

The Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) stipulate the rules surrounding the types of parent visa which award people permanent residence in Australia. Parent category visas generally Parent Visas allow parents to live in Australia either on a temporary or indefinite basis if they are sponsored by a child who is…