Visa Cancellation

Visa Cancellation, Section 116 of the Migration Act 1958 (“the Act”) provides various grounds which empower the Minister or the delegate of the Minister to can cancel a visa.

Reasons of Visa Cancellation

There are different key factors or reasons which may lead to visa cancellation

• Providing wrong information or bogus documents while lodging visa applications.
• The visa holder does not fulfil Visa conditions.
• If the visa holder fails to pass the character test.
• Visa may also be cancelled at the airport if the immigration officer finds some restricted material in your luggage. Any material which is not declared in the passenger landing card.
• An immigration officer may also cancel a visa if he has reasons to believe that the visa holder’s intentions to enter Australia are not genuine or if the visa holder has breached visa conditions.

Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation

If there appears to be a ground for Visa cancellation, a delegate of the Minister for Home Affairs issues a notice of intention to consider cancellation of the visa under Section 116 of the Act. The Notification offers an opportunity to advance justifications for why the visa should not be cancelled.

After assessing the response to the Notice to consider cancellation the delegate of the Minister may not cancel the visa. If the visa holder is able to establish that the circumstances under which the grounds to cancel occurred were beyond the control of the visa holder and the reasons not to cancel outweigh the reasons to cancel. Getting a NOIC can be exceptionally distressing, and we recommend you take legal advice upon getting this notification.

In case the visa is cancelled, the Visa holder can file for a merits review at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (“AAT”). Please note if the visa is cancelled at the airport on arrival. The visa holder may also be detained and removed from Australia as an unlawful non-citizen under s189 of the Migration Act 1958. The decision to cancel is not merits-reviewable under the Migration Act 1959. However, the decision can be reviewed by filing a judicial review, invoking the jurisdiction of the Federal Circuit Court.

Such cases require assistance from a professional immigration lawyer who has experience in dealing with such matters. Please contact Sultan Legal for a free consultation.

What if a visa cancelled?

Australian Migration Provisions require all non-citizens of Australia to have a valid visa for lawful living in Australia. Please note, if your visa is cancelled and you apply for merits review at AAT. You will be given a Bridging Visa by which you will be able to reside within Australia lawfully until the outcome of the merits review. However, if your visa is cancelled and you have not applied for merits review within 28 days of the notification of the decision. Your stay in Australia will be construed to be unlawful. Not having a valid visa may cause detention and removal from Australia.

Impact of Visa Cancellation

When a visa is cancelled it becomes part of the immigration record.  Having a negative record can impact future visa applications. Depending on the reason for visa cancellation, the department can impose temporary ban from making any visa applications for Australia.

In future whenever you are applying for any visa, you must disclose your previous visa cancellation. Visa cancellation is a serious matter and it can impact the visa assessment not only for Australia but also for other countries.

Professional Assistance

In order to establish grounds not to cancel the visa and to respond to the Notification of intention to cancel the visa sent by the Department. You need to have knowledge about the applicable sections of the Migration Act. It is very important that you take professional assistance in such matters from an Immigration Solicitor based in Australia. Sultan Legal is a boutique law firm based in Parramatta. We have the required knowledge and we will be able to guide you through the process. We will try our level best to get the best possible outcome in your case.