5 Reasons Why Visas Are Cancelled

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Did you or your loved one just receive a visa cancellation notification?

 Receiving a visa cancellation notification can be stressful. Moreover, if you are in Australia and your visa has been cancelled, you are an unlawful non-citizen, liable to be placed in immigration detention and deported. You may also be prevented from returning to Australia.

When you have been notified that your visa has been cancelled, and you are not prepared to accept it, we are here to help. A visa cancellation may not necessarily mean the end of the road for your future in Australia.

 To maximise your chances of avoiding a visa cancellation, it is crucial to get sound legal advice from experienced immigration advisors.

 We are experienced immigration lawyers who can advise you on your options and what you can do to improve your chances of a successful outcome. We have
a wealth of experience in dealing with refusals and cancellations and will be working with you to take the necessary steps to ensure that your next steps are successful.

5 Reasons Why Visas Are Cancelled

The 5 most common reasons for visa cancellations include the following:

  1. Non-compliance with visa conditions
  2. Changing courses or no longer enrolled in a registered course (student visa)
  3.  Do not meet the character requirements
  4. Paying for Sponsorship
  5. Biosecurity Contraventions
  1. Non-compliance with visa conditions

Your visa will not cease to be in effect if you fail to comply with a condition imposed on your visa. However, a breach of a visa condition makes your visa liable for cancellation.

 Most temporary visas have a requirement that the applicant has complied substantially with the conditions attached to the substantive visa held and any intervening bridging visa held by the applicant.

 The term ‘complied substantially’ is not defined in the migration regulations, however, in assessing whether you have ‘complied substantially’ with a visa condition, the Department of Home Affairs will consider whether you have complied with conditions attached to your last held substantive visa as well as any bridging visa.

 If the Department of Home Affairs is satisfied that you have not complied with a condition imposed on your visa, your visa may be cancelled.

 Do you think that the visa cancellation notification from the Department of Home Affairs is unacceptable? The friendly team at Visa & Citizenship Lawyers can assist you by determining your options.

 Do not leave responding to the visa cancellation decision to the last minute – book a consultation to speak with an experienced immigration lawyer today.

  1.  
  2. Changing courses or
    no longer enrolled in a registered course
    (student visas)

While on a student visa, you must continue to be enrolled in a registered course.

The Department of Home Affairs may cancel your student visa if:

  • You do not maintain studies during the academic year.
  • You completed the course for which you were granted your student visa and you do not leave Australia or apply for a new visa within 3 months.
  • You have changed courses since you were granted your student visa and your new Confirmation of Enrolment (COE) for your principal course has an earlier end date, but you do not depart from Australia or apply for a new visa within 28 days of completing the course.
  • You have been studying more than one course on your student visa, and you complete a course earlier than the other and have a gap between courses of more than 2 months.

Furthermore, your student visa may be subject to cancellation if your education provider has deferred or suspended your study for any of the following reasons:

  • Your conduct;
  • You deferred or suspended your studies for reasons which are not compassionate or compelling circumstances;
  • The compassionate or compelling circumstances which justified the deferral or suspension of studies do not exist anymore;
  • The deferral or suspension was on the basis on fraudulent evidence or document(s) provided to the education provider.

Has your student visa been cancelled? Contact our friendly and experienced team at Visa & Citizenship Lawyers to get the right assistance with your options from here.

3. Character requirements

To visit or live in Australia, you must be of a good character. This means that you must pass the character test and continue to remain of good character.

You will not pass the character test if:

  • You have a substantial criminal record*;
  • You have been convicted for an offence that you committed:
    • While you were in immigration detention
    • During an escape from immigration detention
    • After an escape from immigration detention, but before you were taken into immigration detention again
  • You have been convicted of an offence for escaping from immigration detention;
  • The Minister reasonably suspects that you have been or are a member of a group or organisation, or have had or have an association with a group, organisation or person which has been or is involved in criminal conduct;
  • Whether or not you, or another person, have been convicted of an offence constituted by the conduct, the Minister reasonably suspects that you have been or are involved in people smuggling, trafficking in persons, the crime of genocide, a crime against humanity, a war crime, a crime involving torture or slavery or a crime that is otherwise of serious international concern;
  • Your past and present criminal or general conduct shows that you are not of good character;
  • If you were allowed to enter or to remain in Australia, there is a risk that you would:
    • Engage in criminal conduct
    • Harass, molest, intimidate, or stalk another person in Australia
    • Vilify a segment of the Australian community
    • Incite discord in the Australian community or in a part of it
    • Be a danger to the Australian community or a part of it
  • You have been convicted, found guilty or had a charge proven for (even if you were discharged without a conviction), one or more sexually based offences involving a child;
  • You have been assessed by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation to be directly or indirectly a risk to security; or
  • You are subject to an Interpol notice, from which it is reasonable to infer that you are a direct or indirect risk to the Australian community, or a part of it.

*What is a ‘substantial criminal record’?

In relation to the ‘character test’ mentioned above, under section 501(7) of the Migration Act 1958, a person is considered to have a ‘substantial criminal record’ if they have been:

  • Sentenced to death; or
  • Sentenced to imprisonment for life; or
  • Sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 12 months or more; or
  • Sentenced to 2 or more terms of imprisonment, where the total of those terms is 12 months or more; or
  • Acquitted of an offence on the grounds of unsoundness of mind or insanity, and as a result the person has been detained in a facility or institution; or
  • Found by court to not be fit to plead, in relation to an offence, and the court has nonetheless found that on the evidence available the person committed the offence; and as a result, the person has been detained in
    a facility or institution.

Failure to meet the character test may result in the cancellation of your visa.

Have you received a notice of intended cancellation or a cancellation notice for not satisfying the character test? This may not be the end of your journey to Australia. But you will need to act fast. Contact our experienced immigration lawyers today to understand your available options and get the right assistance with your visa application.

4. Paying for Sponsorship

Your visa might be cancelled if it is found that you paid for your visa sponsorship.

More specifically, your visa may be cancelled if:

  • You, as a visa holder, asked for, or received, a benefit in return for a sponsorship;
  • You, as a visa holder, have been involved in asking for, or receiving, a benefit in return for a sponsorship on behalf of someone else.

If you are found to be complicit in paying for a sponsorship, the Department of Home Affairs may pursue civil penalties and/or visa cancellation.

A finding against a sponsor who has engaged in receiving a benefit for a sponsorship may have a detrimental effect on future sponsorship and nomination applications made by that sponsor, or any visas the primary sponsored person intends to apply.

Your future applications will be assessed in the light of your involvement in any such action.

Following situations are some examples of scenarios prohibited under the law:

  1. Sam runs a restaurant and advises a job applicant that Sam will nominate the applicant for a Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage) visa only if the job applicant pays Sam a lump sum upfront.
  2. Jaskaran, a prospective visa applicant, has responded to a job advertisement by offering a payment to the business owner if they employ and nominate him for a visa.

Are you unwilling to accept the visa cancellation decision from the Department of Home Affairs based on the allegations that there was a ‘payment of sponsorship’ involved in your matter? Contact our experienced immigration lawyers today to understand your visa cancellation decision, and your options from here.

5. Biosecurity Contraventions

If you do not declare certain food, plant material and animal items from overseas, then the Minister has the power to cancel certain visas in immigration clearance.

Your visa may be cancelled if you:

  • Fail to properly answer questions about goods on your incoming passenger card;
  • Disobey directions given by a Biosecurity officer in relation to goods or baggage;
  • Provide false information or documents to a Biosecurity officer.

Your visa may also be cancelled if you import to Australia objectionable goods without permission. This may include objects that describe, depict, express or otherwise deal with matters such as sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty and violence.

Has your visa been cancelled due to biosecurity contraventions? We are here to help you. Contact our experienced team of immigration lawyers today for answer and your available options. Do not leave responding to a cancellation decision to the last minute – this may have significant consequences for you.

The Department of Home Affairs will Contact You

If the Department of Home Affairs believe that you satisfy any of the reasons for visa cancellation, they will either send you:

  • Notice of Cancellation; or
  • Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation (NOICC).

The type of notification you receive will depend on what cancellation power is being used, which will depend on your personal circumstances.

Notice of Cancellation

Depending on your circumstances, your visa may be automatically cancelled. For instance, the Minister may automatically cancel your visa by using the powers under section 501(3A) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), if the Minister is satisfied that you do not meet certain character requirements.

If this is the case, you will receive a Notice of Cancellation.

If you have received a Notice of Cancellation, you may have an opportunity to lodge submissions as to why your visa cancellation should be revoked (or reversed). If your submissions do not convince the Minister, your visa is likely to remain cancelled. There will be a strict time limit to reply.

Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation

If you have received a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation (NOICC) you must act immediately. You will have an opportunity to reply to the notice and to set out submissions explaining why your visa should not be cancelled. If your submissions do not convince the decision maker, your visa is likely to be cancelled.

There are strict time limits in place to respond to a NOICC.
To learn more about your available options and to get the right assistance with your response to the Department of Home Affairs, contact our friendly and experienced team at Visa & Citizenship Lawyers today.

Visa Cancelled? We Can Help You!

If you have just received notification that your visa has been cancelled, it is important that you obtain legal advice as soon as possible.

You need to act quickly as there are strict time limits to apply for an appeal. The urgency arises because the longer that you leave it, the less options you will have.
Contact our team for an assessment of your options today.

Administrative Appeals

If the Department of Home Affairs cancels your visa, you may consider applying for an appeal of the decision at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Tribunal).

The Tribunal has strict time limitations and if you do not lodge a review application with the Tribunal in time, it will be what is known as an ‘invalid application’. If it is an invalid application, you will have no review rights at the Tribunal.

A cancellation decision from the Department of Home Affairs can come as an unpleasant surprise. Plus, going to the Tribunal can often be a complex process. We regularly assist clients with their Tribunal review applications, and our friendly and experienced immigration lawyers can help you with appealing your visa cancellation decision to the Tribunal.

We will work with you to assess your visa cancellation decision and inform you of the strengths and weaknesses of your case. We can assist you with explaining
the Tribunal review process, preparing evidence-backed and structured appeal application and submissions.

 We will attend the Tribunal hearing with you and present your case before the Tribunal Member. If required, we can assist with drafting further detailed submissions before the Tribunal Member has made their decision.

If you are not ready to accept the visa cancellation decision from the Department of Home Affairs, contact us today to learn more about your available options.

You may be able to appeal the decision of the Tribunal to the Court

If the Tribunal agrees with the decision of the Department of Home Affairs to cancel your visa, you may be able to appeal to the Federal Court. However, during this appeal, you will need to show that the Tribunal made a ‘jurisdiction error’ in conducting your case, including whether correct legal procedures were followed and whether the law was applied correctly in the assessment by the Tribunal.

 If the Federal Court finds that there was a jurisdictional error by the Tribunal, then the Federal Court may send your matter or case back to the decision maker with their finding.

 There are strict time limits, and depending on your circumstances, you must file an application with the Federal Court for review within the required time frame.

Do not play with your visa cancellation decision. As this can be a complex process which can be time consuming, it is recommended that you seek legal advice from experienced immigration lawyers before you appeal to the Federal Court.

 We can assist you with understanding the Tribunal decision in detail, assessing your situation, and providing you with available options. Based on our
assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of your case, we can guide you through the appeal process to the Federal Court as well as provide professional support in preparing evidence for the Court hearing. We can also assist you with attending the Court hearing and presenting your case before the Court.

If required, we will also help you with applying for a new bridging visa for you so that you can remain lawful in Australia.

Contact our friendly team today to explore your options and next steps.

What Visa & Citizenship Lawyers will do for you

The experienced and friendly team at Visa & Citizenship Lawyers are here to help you. We will work with you and guide you through the entire process, including assessing your eligibility for other appropriate visas based on your circumstances and assisting you with the visa application process and working with you to address the common reasons of visa cancellations.

Visa & Citizenship Lawyers will:

  • Assessing the visa cancellation decision, and inform you of your options;
  • Lodge a review application with the Tribunal;
  • Inform you what information will help your case and guide you during the waiting time for the Tribunal review with preparing evidence;
  • Working with you to draft detailed Statutory Declarations supported by evidence;
  • Draft detailed Submissions and lodging with the Tribunal;
  • Attend the Tribunal hearing with you and assist you in presenting your case before the Tribunal;
  • Draft further detailed Submissions (if necessary), before the Tribunal Member has made their decision;
  • Lodge a review application with the Court;
  • Apply for a new bridging visa for you so that you can remain lawful in Australia (if required);
  • Prepare evidence for the Court hearing; and
  • Attend the Court hearing with you and assist you in presenting your case before the Court.

Time is of essence! Do not leave responding to the visa cancellation decision to the last day.

Contact our team today to explore your available options.

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