Even committed non-crime, your conduct or situation might lead to the unwanted consequences, such as cancellation or refusal to your visa/citizenship.
Be a risk to the health, safety or good order of the community
Under Section 116 of the Migration Act, The Minister of Immigration can cancel your visa for the following no-criminal conducts:
- you have been infected with a certain infectious disease, or;
- certain assessments about you have been made by the Foreign Minister, ASIO, Interpol or under particular sanctions legislation, or;
- You are suspected of committing a migration-related offence, or;
- You hold a temporary visa and have been convicted of an offence (a non-criminal offence), or;
- Certain Australian agencies are investigating you, or;
- You hold a bridging ‘E’ visa and have charges pending against you.
Not a recommended conducts
The Minister of Immigration also has discretional power to cancel your visa or citizenship in the following situations:
- You cannot establish your identity, or;
- You were never, or are no longer, eligible for that visa, or;
- Fraudulent conduct in obtaining the visa is suspected, or;
- Visa conditions have not been complied with, or;
- You gave incorrect information as part of the application process, or;
- The grant of visa was otherwise unlawful, or;
- You hold a student, visitor, transit or temporary business or work visa, and the Minister thinks you are not genuine in your declare, or; intentions or are acting in the wrong manner,
- Your sponsor was paid in some way to sponsor you, or they are not complying with their obligations, or;
- You request that your visa be cancelled.
Case Study 1: Non-criminal conducts led to visa cancellation
Guragain is an Indian student studying in an Australian university. He has never had any improper conducts in records.
In 2016 Guragain was charged with the conduct of “filming a person engaged in a private act” and “filming a person’s private parts”. The circumstances were Guragain was found using his camera to film his colleagues which he was not aware of being an invasion to a person’s privacy.
Before the Court reaches a verdict, Guragain’s student visa was cancelled on the ground that he had pleaded guilty to the Court. The Minister of Immigration concluded that the pleas of guilty did indeed suggest that Guragain’s conduct can trigger his visa cancellation under s116 of Migration Act even he was not convicted.
Guragain has to stop his study in Australia, which his family has invested in over 100,000.00 Australian dollars for his education in Australia.
Case study 2: No-criminal conduct led to citizenship refusal
Jilirong had been living in Australian for nearly 30 years, since the 1989 Tianmen Square Protests. He had three grandchildren and lived with his wife and son.
In 2018, Jilirong applied for his Australian citizen but was refused because of his traffic records between 2005 and 2009. He received three traffic fines: one in which he did not pay fine, the second was a non-reversible vehicle safely fine, the third was for driving in the right turn lane, but his car did not turn right. Jilirong was cautioned but have never been charged under Road Rules 2014.
Jilirong’s citizenship application was refused by the Minister of Immigration because his conduct might present a risk to the Australian community.
Eventually, we helped him to get his citizenship application approved through the appeal process, but this case demonstrates the discretional power of the Minister of Immigration over non-criminal conduct.
Facing your visa/citizenship issues
When facing visa/citizenship problems, you need to argue that the ground for cancellation does not exist, or there is a reason why your visa should not be canceled. This requires knowledgeable and dedicated representation to the authority.
The complexity of migration law makes it very hard to comprehend. If you are finding it difficult to handle your visa/citizenship issues, the Guide to win back visa/citizenship in AAT-FCC-HCA provides you the essential practical steps and advice to handle the refusal or cancellation of your visa /citizenship.
