This is what the Australian news is saying, and it’s put some Down Under Visa clients into a panic!
One of the fine tabloids has this:
FOREIGNERS in fake relationships with Australians have been stripped of their visas as the migration system is swamped with people trying to get residence here through marriage.
Strong and scary words, no doubt. And it has some of our clients in a panic, as it looks like some jackbooted crackdown is sweeping through the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) and tearing loving couples apart.
But please note the articles talk about 1,000 being cancelled since 2010. There would have been around 200,000 partner visas processed in that time, so 1,000 is around 0.5%. A bit of a storm in a teacup!
And note that the article says “since 2010”. It has nothing to do with the Abbott Government “getting tough”.
Now, the Department DID apply Public Interest Criteria 4020 (PIC 4020) onto all family stream visa applications in July 2013 (pre-Abbott). That was indeed some “getting tough”, but rightly so. PIC 4020 means that an application can be banned due to:
1. Fraudulent documents
2. False statements
Provision of either of these means:
1. Application refused
2. A 3 year ban before you can apply again
So it’s a serious Regulation, no question about it. And it’s something that all applicants should be very wary of, especially in countries like Philippines where there can be a bit of “moral flexibility” when it comes to facts.
Should the rest of you panic? If you are liars and fraudsters, yes definitely. If not? Then no! Relax!
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Hi jeff in regards to your blog, the Australian government isn’t about trying to stop people migrating here but certainly they will check the validity of every application. There has been quiet a few cases where Australian men are getting married to over seas women for a fee then after some time separating and doing it again. Also they are looking closely when the age gap is large between the lady and the man. All I can say is to all the people applying, don’t panic and this is why I am so glad that we chose to use down under visa, because Jeff and his team will make sure your application is right before it is lodged. Yes we are still waiting for our outcome but I know that we have the best chance possible. Regards Imelda & Ricky
It seems to me that the DIBP are getting like the East German Stasi with their PIC4020. I do agree what they are doing to a certain degree regarding filtering out genuine relationships and age gap but they are out of control like the Stasi was
They’re not doing anything about age gaps, as long as the relationship is genuine. And they put a lot of effort into the genuineness of the relationship, and require a lot of evidence.
No arguments about PIC 4020. They’re trying to crack a walnut with a sledgehammer. It’s an overreaction. But they do it to win votes, which says something about the psyche of the average voter!