Planning to Travel Overseas? Make Sure to Tell Your Immigration Lawyer
As lovely as Australia is, sometimes you want to go overseas to see your family or simply be somewhere new for a holiday. However, before you plan your trip, it is important to add speaking with your lawyer to your itinerary.
Leaving Australia when you have a pending visa application (or even once you have been granted a visa) may have severe consequences on your migration status, including:
You will be stuck outside of the country if you leave without a valid travel authority.
If your visa is refused outside of Australia, you might lose your appeal rights.
You may be at risk of visa cancellation without notice, especially if you have a criminal record.
Do I need permission to travel outside of Australia?
As a visa holder in Australia, you do not have an automatic right to return to Australia from overseas. Before you leave Australia, it is important that to check the following:
If you are currently holding a temporary visa: The two most important things to check if you are holding a temporary visa are:
That the visa has been granted with multiple entries. If the visa only permits a single entry to Australia, you will not be permitted to return to Australia on the same visa if you exit the country.
That the visa does not expire during your travels overseas.
If you are holding a Temporary Protection (subclass 785) visa or a Safe Haven Enterprise Visa (subclass 790) visa, you are not permitted to travel back to the country from which you are seeking refuge unless you obtain permission from the Minister.
If you are currently holding a permanent visa: Even once you are a permanent resident, you will still need to check that you still have a valid travel facility. Most permanent visas are granted 5 years of travel permission, after which you will need to ‘renew’ your travel facility by applying for a Resident Return visa.
For those who are not holding a temporary or permanent substantive visa: If you currently have a pending application, please note that Bridging B (subclass 020) visas (‘BVB’) are the only bridging visas that come with the right to travel out of Australia and be able to return. Even if you have a BVB it is also important that you check that the travel facility remains valid as the BVB continues to exist even after the travel facility expires. If the travel facility has expired, you will need to apply for a new BVB.
All of the above-mentioned information can be found on your visa grant letter or through conducting a VEVO check.
What happens if my visa is refused when I am overseas?
If your visa is refused overseas, for most visa types you will only have 21 days to appeal the decision (depending on the visa that you had applied for). However, the issue is that to appeal these refusal decisions, you generally need to be physically in Australia at the time you make the application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
We would highly recommend that you consult your lawyer before you leave to determine if travel at the present time is right for you given your circumstances.
What happens if my visa is granted while I am overseas?
If your visa is granted overseas, then you will generally need to travel back to Australia by a certain date. This date is always written on your visa in the section titled ‘for first entry, arrive by’.
Usually, you are given a year to make your first entry, but it does vary by visa type. If there is no such section on your visa grant letter, then you do not have a specified first entry date.
Can my visa be cancelled while I am overseas?
Your visa can be cancelled while you are overseas. However, the most terrifying aspect of this is the fact that, under certain grounds, your visa can be cancelled while you’re overseas without having to give you notice of it first. This is different from most types of visa cancellations in Australia, where the Department of Home Affairs would need to warn you first and give you time to argue why your visa shouldn’t be cancelled before the cancellation occurs (otherwise known as a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation).
The grounds for which your visa could be cancelled overseas include:
If you had not complied with your visa conditions.
If you had given incorrect information in relation to your visa application.
If your continued presence in Australia would present a risk to the ‘health, safety or good order’ of the Australian community (usually indicated by a criminal record).
You can read our page for other possible cancellation grounds.
Once your visa is cancelled overseas, you can ask for the cancellation decision to be revoked. However, you will most likely need to wait overseas while the revocation request is processed.
How Can Agape Henry Crux Help You?
If you encounter a similar situation and need advice on your Australian citizenship matter, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can book a Migration Planning Session with one of our immigration lawyers or Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law to seek professional advice by calling 02-8310-5230 or email us to book in a time at info@ahclawyers.com.
We speak fluent English, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Indonesian, Burmese and Malay. If these aren’t your language, we can also help you arrange an interpreter.
This article/presentation (“publication”) does not deal extensively with important topics or changes in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you find this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances, please contact our office.