Lifting the Public Interest Criteria (PIC) 4020 10 Year Bar

Applicant’s Background

  • The Client had previously been in Australia with a working holiday visa(s)

  • She went back to her home country and changed her name. She then sought to apply for another Working Holiday visa in her new name without declaring her official name change.

  • For this, she was sent a warning on PIC 4020(2A) – which relates to the Minister not being satisfied as to the identity of the person and carries a 10 year bar (with no waiver).

  • She replied to the Department with admission of mistakenly not declaring her old name and that she was indeed the other person. Her application was refused on PIC 4020(2A).

  • 3 years plus later, she sought help from Agape.

Our Immigration Assessment of the Applicant’s Situation

  • PIC 4020(2A) relates to conflicting or inconsistent information relating to your identity which causes the Minister to not be satisfied as to your identity.

  • It carries a strict 10-year bar from being granted a visa and cannot be waived like other PIC 4020 provisions.

Our Successful Story

  • Our original plan was to apply for another visitor visa and try to argue that there was an error in using PIC 4020(2A) to refuse her visa. We advised that it would be an extremely difficult fight as there are provisions for waiver and it would be difficult for the Department to do anything. It will most likely have to be escalated to the judicial courts (as her original decision was out of time) or to the Minister to exercise personal powers. 

  • Nevertheless, we did not give up and studied all the material that was part of that application.

  • We found that in her response to the Department, prior to the refusal, it may well have constituted an effective withdrawal of her application as per s 49 of the Migration Act.

  • Furthermore, by admitting she was the first-named identity, it was incorrect for the delegate to proceed to refuse on the basis of PIC 4020(2A) because her identity could already be established.

  • We changed our strategy and requested an internal review. Smoothly, the Department opened internal investigations and withdrew an already decided application from over 3 years ago.

  • Effectively, she no longer had a 10 year bar and could return to Australia at any time now.

  • We ‘lifted’ the 10 year bar that could not be lifted as that provision that affected her had no waiver provisions.

Public interest criteriaAdele WanPIC 4020, public interest criteria 4020, public interest criteria, 10 year bar, 10 year ban, ban from australia, Lifting 10 year ban