Here’s what you need to know and why.
Despite borders opening and tourism being encouraged in Australia while the country’s economy recovers, applicants will find that the Subclass 600 Visitor Visa (600 visa) is not as easy to secure. Refusal of 600 visas has become more common recently. For this reason, understanding the criteria of the 600 visa is integral to ensure you can put forward the best visa application and obtain a positive outcome.
What is a visitor visa?
The 600 visa is a temporary visa that allows you to visit Australia as a business visitor or see family and friends for up to 12 months. The streams provided under this visa includes:
- Tourist Stream
- Sponsored Family Stream
- Business Visitor Stream
- Approved Destination Status Stream
- Frequent Traveller Stream
*It is important to note that each stream has differing criteria, and as an applicant you need to consider which stream you are applying for, and if you meet the criteria for that particular stream.
Who is eligible for this visa and who would apply?
You would also need to apply for this particular visa on the basis that you do not meet the requirements of an eVisitor (Subclass 651) or an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA).
The common eligibility for this visa is inclusive of:
- Intends to visit Australia as a tourist, business visitor, relative of an Australian permanent resident or citizen or ‘other’ reasons allowable under the 600 visa
- Having access to or have adequate funds, enough to support your stay in Australia (as well as departure)
- Being classified as a Genuine Visitor, that is, do you have a genuine intention to stay temporarily in Australia?
This eligibility needs to be thoroughly considered when deciding upon applying for a visitor visa as you will undergo the scrutiny of a Department of Home Affair’s decision maker.
What makes applying for the 600 visa challenging?
We see 600 visa refusals mainly due to applicants failing to meet the ‘Genuine Intention to visit Australia temporarily’. This appears to have become a focal point in decision makers refusing entry to individuals.
In determining whether an applicant has a genuine intention to stay temporarily in Australia, a decision maker must consider the following:
- Whether the applicant has complied substantially with the conditions of their past visas
- Whether the applicant intends to comply with the conditions of their 600 visa
- Any other relevant matter
(b) and (c) are usually the two considerations where the decision maker has quite a broad discretion to consider a number of factors to be able to finally assess if the applicant can meet the genuine intention criteria. This unfortunately can lead to unfair findings made by the Department’s case officer.
Some of the considerations for (b) are:
- Adverse information or allegations against any applicant or a contact in Australia
- Financial support during the applicant’s stay (without engaging in any work in Australia)…
Some of the considerations for (c) are:
- Your employment and financial conditions
- Economic, social and political situation relative to the applicant’s home or usual country of residence
- Incentive to return to their home country or usual country of residence…
Why is this important to understand?
A lot of clients believe that applying for a 600 visa is straightforward. In most cases it can be, however at other times, understanding how to put the best case forward by applying the laws, making succinct arguments and supporting the case with the right evidence, can improve your chances of success towards a positive visa outcome.
This is particularly important as overseas applicants mostly do not have a right of appeal of any 600 refusal decision.
The 600 visa stands as one of the most popular immigration visas, and thus, due to the high number of applications received by the Department of Home Affairs each year, the legislation for approval of this visa is strict and non-negotiable.
M Legal’s lawyers’ experience makes us well equipped to help navigate and give you clarity on this entire process. With our knowledge, we can assist you with your next 600 visa application and put the most robust case together for you to make this work easier for you.
Contact Us
If you found this article useful, give us a call and book in your consultation with M Legal today!
Written by Sarah Mathew on behalf of M Legal’s lawyers.
PART 2: Applying for an Australian visa is no piece of cake: Why you should engage a ‘good’ immigration lawyer
This blog was not written by ChatGPT.
‘Applying for a visa is no piece of cake: Why you should engage an immigration lawyer’ is our immigration blog article with the most clicks (and continues to be popular). This was surprising as I thought people would want to read more technical visa information. On further reflection, however, it actually does make sense why people want to know, above everything else, whether or not they should be engaging a lawyer (or migration agent).
Engaging an expert is the starting point of the visa journey. Knowing whether you should pay a lawyer money to guide you through what can for some individuals be a life-altering experience is an important decision to make. As consumer confidence has been shaken over the years from the many stories that have emerged of bad lawyers and migration agents giving poor-quality advice and putting clients in jeopardy, professionals like myself have had to substantiate our abilities.
For this reason, I thought I would follow my last article with a Part 2. Now that 2024 marks my 20th year working in Australian migration, I can impart greater wisdom and an even stronger case as to why you should consider engaging a good immigration lawyer:
Within an initial consultation and asking the right questions, I can diagnose a client’s ultimate end goal, the hurdles that lie before them, and the visa options that may lie ahead. Sometimes this visa pathway is linear, with a direct end result of permanent residency. On other occasions, this pathway may curve and require a client to pursue a number of temporary visa options before they can arrive at the final destination. This is the expert viewpoint, that is, an understanding of the bigger picture and foreseeing what type of monetary investment could be involved to migrate to Australia.
I cannot tell you the countless times I have been told by a client that they spoke to friends or family, who suggested that they pursue a particular visa pathway because it worked for them. Only to find out after a visa refusal that this advice was ill-informed and their personal circumstances did not align with the visa requirements.
In many instances, there is no ‘quick fix it’ visa that will grant you permanent residency to Australia. Many individuals engineer a situation to create such a pathway, but with the global order changing towards tougher migration policies and strong border protection, governments are closing gaps to ensure that individuals cannot submit nonsensical visa applications anymore.
Hence, the right approach is building upon your current and unique personal situation. By this meaning, understanding whether there is a need to complete additional studies or gain more work experience or seek support from your Australian spouse, to open up more visa options and opportunities (as examples). This is what a migration lawyer can guide you through, and this approach is certainly more sustainable than choosing a different career path or falsifying stories for the sake of securing a visa, as this has adverse future consequences.
Migration is a dynamic area of law. It changes weekly and sometimes without notice, the government releases impactful policies that are not published immediately on the Department’s website. A good migration lawyer is on the pulse of these changes and understands the practical issues of running a visa case and is aware of those invisible issues that cannot be found on websites.
Engaging M Legal Group at the beginning of your migration journey means you will receive our migration newsletters. More importantly, we will always keep your case in mind over the term of your migration journey that may span many years. We will reach out to you (or you can ask us questions) if there is a migration law or policy that is beneficial or detrimental to your migration situation.
If you found this article useful, give us a call and book your consultation with M Legal today!
NEWS FLASH: Pandemic Event Visa Closure
While this is now old news, we felt that this was still an important change to immigration policy that we would news flash.
The Pandemic Event Visa has officially closed to new applications. As of 2 September 2023, the Pandemic Event visa will only be available to existing Pandemic Event visa holders.
Why is the Pandemic Event visa closing?
Now that Australia’s borders are open and temporary visa holder numbers in Australia have returned to pre-COVID levels, The Department of Home Affairs has decided that the Pandemic Event visa will no longer be required.
Next steps for existing Pandemic Event visa holders and lodged Pandemic Event visa applications
As part of the staged closure:
Next steps for employers preparing for closure
Employers of a Pandemic Event visa holder should check what their employee’s plans are, including whether they intend to transition to another visa or depart Australia.
It is the responsibility of employers to ensure that they employ overseas workers with valid visas, otherwise, they risk significant penalties.
If you found this article useful, give us a call and book your consultation with M Legal today!
Written by Sarah Mathew on behalf of M Legal’s lawyers
Game changing citizenship requirement changes for NZ citizens
From the 1st of July 2023, all New Zealand (NZ) citizens who are granted a special category visa (SCV) will be considered permanent residents for citizenship purposes. This will mean that all SCV holders will have a direct pathway to apply for Australian Citizenship without becoming permanent residents first. This is under the condition that the requirement of four years of residence and other eligibility requirements are met. In our view, this is a monumental shift in citizenship requirements, with a game-changing effect on NZ citizens who have made Australia their home.
Ordinarily, to meet the general residence requirement for the purpose of citizenship by conferral, an applicant must be lawfully present in Australia for four years, including 12 months as a permanent resident, immediately before the date of application.
The changes that will take effect from 1 July 2023:
The above provisions will apply to New Zealand citizens in Australia as well as New Zealand citizens who are overseas but held an SCV before leaving Australia.
These changes will impact children who are born in Australia on or after 1 July 2022 to an SCV holder as they will automatically acquire Australian citizenship at birth.
The change will ultimately bring about new opportunities for New Zealand citizens and their children born on-shore, and will finally reward SCV holders who have lived in Australia for an extended period of time so as to receive the benefits associated with citizenship and be valued as part of the Australian community.
M Legal’s lawyers’ experience makes us well-equipped to help provide clarity on this entire process. With our knowledge, we can assist you with your next Australian Citizenship application and put the most robust case together for you to make this work easier for you.
If you found this article useful, give us a call and book your consultation with M Legal today!
Written by Sarah Mathew on behalf of M Legal’s lawyers
Here are the changes to the First Home Buyer Choice (NSW) and why they’re going to make a difference.
The new NSW First Home Buyer Choice scheme has given first home buyers an opportunity to lower the upfront costs of your purchase of a property, whilst also reducing the time needed to save a deposit, fast-tracking your way to a new home.
What is the First Home Buyer Choice?
First Home Buyer Choice is a government initiative that allows first home buyers the choice to either pay the existing upfront stamp duty (known as transfer duty) or an annual property tax when they are seeking to purchase:
What is the difference between stamp duty and the annual property tax?
Stamp duty is an upfront payment required to be paid when purchasing a home. This payment is calculated as a percentage of the property’s purchase price or current market value. With a constantly shifting property market, stamp duty has continued to significantly increase over the years. This has made it, in some cases, increasingly difficult for first-home buyers to purchase a property.
To combat the increasing rates, the government has provided the alternate option of an annual property tax. The annual property tax is a series of payments that are based on the land value of the purchased property. This is typically deemed the lower upfront cost, particularly for first-home buyers needing to save their funds. However, it is important to remember that alike to stamp duty rates, this tax may become increasingly costly in the long run. The property tax rates for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 include:
*It is important to also note that once a property has opted into property tax, the eligible purchaser/transferee will remain liable for annual property tax until they no longer hold an interest in the property.
What are the eligibility requirements for a first home buyer in NSW?
The eligibility criteria given to first-home buyers in NSW include that:
What are the property requirements that fit within the First Home Buyer Choice?
It is important to also note that this application needs to be thoroughly checked and completed. Particularly with regards to submitting the correct and appropriately formatted documents in order to allow your application to be successful and to allow first-home buyers, when purchasing, to be at ease.
M Legal’s lawyers’ experience within the property market, and particularly throughout the fluctuations caused by the pandemic, is well equipped to give you clarity on this entire process. With our knowledge, we can assist you with your First Home Buyer Choice application and put the most robust case together for you to make this work easier for you.
Contact Us
If you found this article useful, give us a call and book in your consultation with M Legal today!
Written by Sarah Mathew on behalf of M Legal’s lawyers
Are you looking to apply for a Visitor Visa?
Here’s what you need to know and why.
Despite borders opening and tourism being encouraged in Australia while the country’s economy recovers, applicants will find that the Subclass 600 Visitor Visa (600 visa) is not as easy to secure. Refusal of 600 visas has become more common recently. For this reason, understanding the criteria of the 600 visa is integral to ensure you can put forward the best visa application and obtain a positive outcome.
What is a visitor visa?
The 600 visa is a temporary visa that allows you to visit Australia as a business visitor or see family and friends for up to 12 months. The streams provided under this visa includes:
*It is important to note that each stream has differing criteria, and as an applicant you need to consider which stream you are applying for, and if you meet the criteria for that particular stream.
Who is eligible for this visa and who would apply?
You would also need to apply for this particular visa on the basis that you do not meet the requirements of an eVisitor (Subclass 651) or an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA).
The common eligibility for this visa is inclusive of:
This eligibility needs to be thoroughly considered when deciding upon applying for a visitor visa as you will undergo the scrutiny of a Department of Home Affair’s decision maker.
What makes applying for the 600 visa challenging?
We see 600 visa refusals mainly due to applicants failing to meet the ‘Genuine Intention to visit Australia temporarily’. This appears to have become a focal point in decision makers refusing entry to individuals.
In determining whether an applicant has a genuine intention to stay temporarily in Australia, a decision maker must consider the following:
(b) and (c) are usually the two considerations where the decision maker has quite a broad discretion to consider a number of factors to be able to finally assess if the applicant can meet the genuine intention criteria. This unfortunately can lead to unfair findings made by the Department’s case officer.
Some of the considerations for (b) are:
Some of the considerations for (c) are:
Why is this important to understand?
A lot of clients believe that applying for a 600 visa is straightforward. In most cases it can be, however at other times, understanding how to put the best case forward by applying the laws, making succinct arguments and supporting the case with the right evidence, can improve your chances of success towards a positive visa outcome.
This is particularly important as overseas applicants mostly do not have a right of appeal of any 600 refusal decision.
The 600 visa stands as one of the most popular immigration visas, and thus, due to the high number of applications received by the Department of Home Affairs each year, the legislation for approval of this visa is strict and non-negotiable.
M Legal’s lawyers’ experience makes us well equipped to help navigate and give you clarity on this entire process. With our knowledge, we can assist you with your next 600 visa application and put the most robust case together for you to make this work easier for you.
Contact Us
If you found this article useful, give us a call and book in your consultation with M Legal today!
Written by Sarah Mathew on behalf of M Legal’s lawyers.
End of 2022 note to clients and friends