Visas and migration
People who want to move to live in Australia must apply to migrate and obtain the necessary visa. A visa is a document that allows a person to enter Australia. Visas are issued in different categories and there are strict rules about who is eligible for that type of visa. An application must meet all the criteria before it may be granted.
Australia's permanent migration program covers economic and family migration and is the main way to get to permanent residence. It includes the skill stream (this stream is designed for workers who have the skills, qualifications and entrepreneurship most needed in the Australian economy), family stream (this stream allows the permanent migration of close family members of Australian citizens, permanent residents, and eligible New Zealand citizens) and special eligibility visas (these allow former residents and certain people who served in the Australian Defence Force to live in Australia as permanent residents). The other way to obtain permanent residence is on humanitarian grounds.
More information on each of these paths is available on the Department of Home Affairs website.
Legal Aid WA gives limited advice about visas and migration matters. If we are unable to help, we will refer you to another organisation who can help.
Can decisions to refuse a visa be reviewed?
If your application for a visa to visit or stay in Australia is refused, you may be able to seek a review of the decision through the the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART).
Your decision letter from the Department of Home Affairs will tell you if the ART can review the decision and if you are a person who can apply for a review.
There are strict time limits for seeking a review. Time limits depend on the type of decision and whether you are in immigration detention. The time limit cannot be extended by the ART.
You can check the Department of Home Affairs’ decision letter to find out what your time limit is. You should get legal advice as soon as you receive a decision to refuse your visa.
What are the consequences of putting false or misleading information in a visa application?
A visa based on incorrect information may be cancelled and the visa holder deported.
You can also be charged with a criminal offence if you have put false or misleading information in visa application documents given to Department of Home Affairs.
For example, visas may be cancelled and charges laid if a marriage or de facto relationship was faked in order to get a visa, and the visa applicant did not intend to live permanently with the other person in a married relationship or de facto relationship at the time they submitted their application.
This applies to both visa applicants, as well as people who have sponsored a visa applicant (such as a spouse or employer).
Get help
You should get legal advice if you have questions about the criteria for a particular visa, or about appeals to the ART. The Law Society of WA can refer you to lawyers who specialise in immigration law.
More information
Department of Home Affairs
Administrative Review Tribunal
Reviewed: 15 October 2024