If your Australian visa application is refused or your existing Australian visa is canceled, or your Australian citizenship application is refused, or your existing Australian citizenship is canceled, you might want to go through the Australian visa/citizenship review system in order to get your visa or citizenship back.
Australian Visa/Citizenship Review Systems
Australian have in-bedded review procedures for visa/citizenship refusal or cancellation.
The review procedures are protected by rule of law in Australia, which includes administrative review, Court appeal, as well as internal review or Ministerial Intervention. Most of the cases can appeal to AAT-FCC-FCA-HCA.
AAT stands for Administrative Appeals Tribunal
FCC stands for Federal Circuit Court of Australia
FCA stands for Federal Court of Australia
HCA stands for High Court of Australia
Although the Ministerial Intervention could be one of the ways to revoke your visa/citizenship refusal or cancellation, your rights to review by the Minister are not protected by the rule of law.
The Minister of Immigration has discretional power not to review your request. Or if the Minister of Immigration does review your request, he/she does not have to revoke the refusal or cancellation.
The internal review only applies to the human error but not to the dispute of fact or law. In some instances, the internal review is used to rectify the management mistake.
Common Steps in Review Systems
Visa/citizenship review
Receive notice of cancellation/refusal
You received a notice to inform you that your visa/citizenship is canceled or refused for specific reasons. With this notice, there are the decision records attached, which are clearly stated the laws, facts, and reasons for cancellation and refusal.
Confirm your rights to review
Not every refusal or cancellation to visa/citizenship is reviewable. Generally, all onshore decisions refusing to a visa/citizenship are reviewable. with the offshore decisions, the rights of review are confined to some person in Australia, where such a person was the nominator or sponsor of the visa applicant overseas.
Time Limits for review
Generally, the review application must be lodged within 28 calendar days from the date of the decision. In the circumstances that the visa applicant was offshore, the sponsor of visa applicant must lodge their review within 70 calendar days from the date of decision.
Where you in immigration detention, the decision review must take place within 2 working days from the date of decision.
For a review on the character-related decision, the time limit is 9 calendar days from the date of decision.
To apply for a review in FCC, FCA or HCA, you must lodge your view application within 35 days after the date of decision.
Chose the path to review
Should you chose the review in AAT-FCC-FCA-HCA, or Ministerial Intervention, or Internal review, it will depend on your circumstance and legal requirement where the most appropriate path will bring you the most benefits.
For example, where the internal review might cost you nothing, but it is the right that not be protected by law. It looks like the Minister Intervention also costs less but you can only apply after the decision of AAT.
There is a limited right of appeal from AAT to FCC or FCA for certain errors of law.
Win back Visa / Citizenship in AAT-FCC-HCA
To win back your visa/citizenship, you need to argue that the ground for refusal or cancellation does not exist, or is unfair, or there is a special reason your visa/citizenship should not be taken.
If the refusal or cancellation to visa/citizenship is related to “good character”, you must seek legal advice before presenting your case to the authority because there are huge case law that can point you to the unhelpful direction.
The challenges
It is a challenge to understand the full operation of Australian migration law even you are a lawyer. The complexity of law results in fewer immigration lawyers who are the expert in AAT-FCC-FCA-HCA.
The Guide to win back visa/citizenship in AAT-FCC-HCA provide you the essential practical steps and advice to handle the refusal or cancellation of your visa /citizenship. It is also is a good guide to help you to identify what will be involved in appeal when you try to find the right lawyer.
