Visa Refusals and Appealing through the AAT

Australian Visa Refusals

Not something anyone wants to talk about. I don’t! Clients sometimes ask me right at the start “….and what do we do if it’s refused?”

I don’t REALLY want to discuss it at the beginning stage of a visa application, honestly! Again, honestly, because it happens so rarely! We’ve done thousands of Australian Partner Visa applications for our clients successfully over the years, and this is what I always want to emphasize. I also point out that refusals for partner visas are USUALLY as the result of a client doing something careless….or one of their wife’s relatives somewhere along the way doing something careless…..or an illness which they didn’t know was very serious….or something they DID know about, such as a serious criminal record on the part of the Australian sponsor or possibly the sponsor had two sponsorships previously which meant he had reaches his limit under Australian Migration Law, yet wanted to try anyway because he’s in love!

MOST of the time it doesn’t happen! Your average Aussie sponsor who meets his sweetheart in one of the countries where we manage Australian visas from (Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam or Cambodia…..and maybe Laos in the near future). He’s an average Aussie bloke. She’s an average girl in good health with no skeletons in the closet. I can say comfortably “Just don’t LIE to me, and follow our instructions and you will get the visa!” There’s no BS in that statement! We’re good at what we do, and we may get a refusal go to the Administrative Affairs Tribunal (AAT) for Merits Review (which is an appeal of the refusal decision) maybe once a year! And we do 200+ every year, so you get a clear idea of how unusual refusals are. That remains…..BUT…..they happen!

And when they happen, what are you going to do about it!

Serious question! What are YOU going to do about it? Do you toss in the towel and give up on the love of your life, or do you say “Jeff, what can we do about this??”

One thing I’ve learned over the years of managing Australian visa applications for Australian Filipina (and others!) couples is that no one gives up!

We got through 2 years of COVID without closing our office doors even a single day! Some of our staff moved in with us. Others worked from home. Australian borders were closed! Philippines borders were closed! Yeah, I remember the fear washing over me. You know that feeling when all the blood drains from your face and you feel faint? I had (still have!) a family to feed. House full of kids. Staff who depend on Down Under Visa to pay their salaries.

What got us through? YOU lot did! Our clients still wanted their sweethearts with them, and they hung on for dear life! Sounds like a song, but I sure did learn the power of love! And I learned it from our clients who were hungry for solutions (which we largely found).

So what’s the difference when your dream appears over and you get that nasty email that says your partner visa has been refused? Not much! You fight, and you ask Jeff to fight for you!

Can we always help? Can every refusal be fought at the AAT?

No. No, sorry. Some cases are hopeless. And some are close to hopeless and are weak cases with little chance of success. Hopeless cases happen, and I won’t lie to you.

Tourist Visa Refusals

Most of the time tourist visas (Visitor Visas) are refused under Regulation 600.211. This is the one where they don’t believe the applicant is a GTE (Genuine Temporary Entrant), which is their language for meaning they think she will overstay and will try not to return, because they think she has a stronger reason to overstay in Australia than to return to her home country (or the country were she’s resident and maybe working as an Overseas Filipino Worker).

Bluntly? Unless you are in an excellent financial position, earning similar to an Australian salary and somehow didn’t communicate this? NOT much hope! And I will not encourage you to either try again or to appeal though the AAT. You’re welcome to try, but unlikely to be a good case.

Partner Visa Refusals or Child Visa Refusals

I won’t go over every possible weak-case possibility for you. I will tell you that if you blatantly lied or lodged fake documents or hid the fact that you’re still married to someone else, it won’t be easy and will probably not work.

Most of the success comes from when there are compelling and compassionate circumstances surrounding the couple where AAT Member (what they call “the judge”) can be made to see that a refusal would be unjust. You made mistakes. You committed crimes in the past, but you turned your life around. And when a refusal would split up a family when there is a long term relationship and maybe children of that relationship.

The powers-that-be who made the Laws and the Regulations usually had good reasons to write them. Usually they were written to protect the vulnerable, or to protect the interests of the Australian people at large. Where we can show that these original intentions would NOT be met by the refusal, and where compassion is clearly called-for? We can usually turn the decision around.

Other times? The Department Case Officer simply made a technical error and/or misread the situation and an unfair result happened because of that. We are happy to defend you if that’s the case.

What to do when your Australian visa application is refused?

Go to the right page (HERE) and tell us what happened. Tell us your story, and be concise and stick to the point. I don’t need long emotional stories. Just the facts! And attach the refusal pdf files (TWO files) for us to have a look at.

Before you do this, look at whether the letter says that you CAN appeal the decision! Some decisions cannot be appealed, and there is nothing that can be done. You also have a time limit to respond, so please act immediately! And we will tell you if we can help or not.

Expensive? Yes, fairly expensive. There’s a lot of work involved preparing and presenting your case with supporting documents and supporting evidence, and in most cases we appear before the AAT hearing (online these days, fortunately) to support your case and to answer questions. Not as expensive as a partner visa though, and if you don’t appeal you will lose everything you’ve spent so far.

Let us have a look, and we will give you an honest appraisal. And THAT part is free!

Jeff Harvie is a Registered Migration Agent from Australia, but resident in Philippines since 2010 with his Filipina wife Mila and large extended family. Experienced with the Philippines culture, cross-cultural relationships and bureaucracy as well as Australian visas and Australian Migration Law, he writes with authority and fortunately with enough informality and humour that the average Aussie gets it! Down Under Visa specialises in visas for Australians in relationships with ladies and gents from Philippines, Thailand, China and Vietnam. Read MORE