Immigration Lawyers Melbourne

Immigration Lawyers Melbourne are lawyers who take responsibility for a migration matter from the first assessment to the final decision, and My Migration Lawyers acts as Immigration Lawyers Melbourne for clients across Melbourne and Victoria on four kinds of matter: partner visas, Subclass 866 protection visas, visa refusals and visa cancellations. The firm does not act on skilled, student, employer sponsored or citizenship matters. It acts on the four matter types where the legal criteria are most contested and where the client's account and evidence carry the outcome.

This article explains what Immigration Lawyers Melbourne do at each stage of those four matters. It covers the assessment that precedes any application, the partner visa work, the protection visa work, the response to a refusal, the response to a cancellation notice, the correspondence with the Department of Home Affairs under section 56 and section 57 of the Migration Act 1958, and review at the Administrative Review Tribunal. It then explains how My Migration Lawyers, led by Weiwei Zhang, Principal Lawyer, acts as Immigration Lawyers Melbourne for clients who never set foot in a Sydney office.

The article is not a guide to the law. The law is set out on the firm's partner visa lawyers service page and its protection visa lawyers service page. This article is about the work.

What do Immigration Lawyers Melbourne do across the four matter types?

Immigration Lawyers Melbourne assess the client against the criteria that will decide the matter, select the subclass or the claim, plan the evidence, review the client's own statements, draft the legal submissions, lodge the application or the response, and manage every contact with the Department until the matter is decided. The four matter types differ in the law that applies, but the sequence of the work is the same on each.

On a partner visa matter the criteria are the spouse definition in section 5F or the de facto partner definition in section 5CB of the Migration Act 1958, the four aspects of the relationship in regulation 1.15A and regulation 1.09A, and whatever Schedule 3, sponsorship or condition issue sits on the file. On a protection visa matter the criteria are the refugee criterion in section 36(2)(a) and the complementary protection criterion in section 36(2)(aa). On a refusal matter the question is whether the delegate's finding under section 65 can be answered at the Administrative Review Tribunal. On a cancellation matter the question is whether the ground in section 109, section 116 or section 501 is made out and, if it is, whether the discretion should be exercised against the client.

Immigration Lawyers Melbourne do not treat these as form filling exercises. The legal work is identifying the criterion that will be applied against the client, gathering the evidence that criterion requires, and putting the client's own account in front of the decision maker in the form the law requires. The firm's article on what an immigration lawyer does describes that distinction in general terms. This article applies it to each matter type in turn.

One principle runs through all four. The client's statements are the client's own evidence. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne do not write a client's story. The client writes it, the firm reviews it against the forms, the documents and the law, corrects errors in dates and events, identifies claims the evidence does not support, and returns the statement to the client to confirm that every sentence is true. The client decides which claims are advanced.

How do Immigration Lawyers Melbourne assess a matter before any work begins?

Immigration Lawyers Melbourne begin every matter with a written assessment, delivered as a letter of advice and a document checklist after the initial consultation, before any application or response work is started. At My Migration Lawyers the letter of advice states the matter type, the criteria in issue, the evidence that will be required, the submissions that will be drafted, the deadlines that apply and the risks that remain after the firm has done its work.

The assessment begins with the client's visa position. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne run the Visa Entitlement Verification Online check themselves rather than relying on what the client remembers, confirm the current visa, its conditions and its expiry date, and check whether a bridging visa is in place and which one. A client in Melbourne on a student visa that is about to be cancelled for non-attendance, a client on a visitor visa with condition 8503, and a client who has been unlawful since a visa ceased are three different matters even if they ask the same question, and the firm's guide to bridging visas in Australia explains why the bridging visa held at lodgement matters.

The assessment then turns to immigration history. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne obtain every previous application, refusal and cancellation, in Australia and elsewhere, and the decision records where they exist. Public interest criterion 4020 allows a visa to be refused for a bogus document or false or misleading information in the current application or in an earlier one, and section 48 limits the visas that can be applied for in Australia after a refusal or cancellation. Neither can be managed if the firm does not know about it.

The assessment ends with the deadlines. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne identify every date on the file: the visa expiry, the response date on any section 56 or section 57 letter, the response date on any notice of intention to consider cancellation, and the review period on any refusal notice. Each of these deadlines is short and strictly applied, and several cannot be extended at all. Where a deadline is already running, the response is prepared before anything else on the file.

What do Immigration Lawyers Melbourne do on a partner visa matter?

Immigration Lawyers Melbourne run a partner visa matter by assessing the applicant and the sponsor separately, selecting between the Subclass 820 and 801 onshore pathway, the Subclass 309 and 100 offshore pathway and the Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage visa, planning the relationship evidence against the four aspects, reviewing the couple's statements and the Form 888 statements, drafting any waiver submission, and lodging through ImmiAccount.

The Melbourne specific legal fact on a de facto matter is registration. Regulation 2.03A requires a de facto relationship of at least twelve months at the time of application unless the relationship is registered under a prescribed State or Territory law or there are compelling and compassionate circumstances. The Victorian Relationships Register, established under the Relationships Act 2008 (Vic), is a prescribed law. A Melbourne couple who have lived together for a shorter period can register their relationship with Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria and remove the twelve month requirement. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne check whether registration is available to the couple, whether either party's marital status prevents it, and whether the application should wait for the certificate. The firm's guide to the de facto partner visa in Australia explains the exception in detail.

The sponsor is assessed against regulation 1.20J, which limits a person to two partner sponsorships in a lifetime, at least five years apart, unless the limitation is waived for compelling circumstances, and against Division 1.4B, which concerns registrable offences. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne ask the sponsor about sponsorship history and criminal history before anything else is done, because a sponsor problem discovered after lodgement is far harder to manage than one disclosed at the assessment. The firm's article on partner visa sponsorship limitations sets out how the waiver operates.

The applicant's visa status determines the rest. An applicant without a substantive visa must satisfy Schedule 3 criteria 3001, 3003 and 3004 or persuade the Department that there are compelling reasons not to apply them, and Immigration Lawyers Melbourne draft that submission with evidence rather than assertion. An applicant on a visitor visa with condition 8503 needs a waiver under section 41(2A) before a Subclass 820 application can be made. An applicant who lodges while holding a substantive visa is granted a Bridging Visa A, and the firm advises on work rights and on the Bridging Visa B needed to travel. The firm's article on moving from a tourist visa to a partner visa covers the sequence that many Melbourne visitor visa holders face.

The evidence is planned against the financial aspects, the nature of the household, the social aspects and the nature of the commitment. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne place each document against one aspect, identify the gaps, and have the couple explain the gaps in their own statements. The Form 888 statements are gathered from witnesses who have seen the relationship and can describe it, not from witnesses who will recite a template. Where the relationship has ended because of family violence, the firm prepares the claim under Division 1.5 with judicial or non-judicial evidence, and where the Subclass 801 second stage falls due two years from the date of the Subclass 820 application, the firm calendars it and prepares the updated evidence as part of the same matter.

What do Immigration Lawyers Melbourne do on a Subclass 866 protection visa matter?

Immigration Lawyers Melbourne run a Subclass 866 protection visa matter by taking the applicant's account of the harm feared, identifying which of the refugee criterion in section 36(2)(a) and the complementary protection criterion in section 36(2)(aa) the account engages, planning the evidence, reviewing the applicant's statement of claims, preparing the applicant for the Department interview, and answering the Department until the visa is decided. The firm acts for onshore applicants only: people already in Melbourne on a visitor visa, a student visa or another temporary visa, or people whose visa has ceased. The firm's Subclass 866 protection visa page describes the criteria.

The first legal task is claim identification. Section 5H defines a refugee and section 5J defines a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. Section 36(2A) defines significant harm for complementary protection as arbitrary deprivation of life, the death penalty, torture, cruel or inhuman treatment or punishment, or degrading treatment or punishment. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne listen to the applicant's account and identify which ground or grounds the facts support. Many applicants describe harm without knowing which legal ground it falls under. The applicant decides which claims are advanced; the firm advises which claims the evidence can carry.

The second task is the statement of claims. Section 5AAA of the Migration Act 1958 places the responsibility on the applicant to specify the particulars of the claim and to provide evidence of it, and section 423A allows the Administrative Review Tribunal to draw an inference from a claim raised for the first time at review. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne therefore treat the statement of claims lodged with Form 866 as the single most important document on the file. The applicant writes it. The firm reviews it for completeness, chronology and consistency with the Form 866, the passport and the country information, and returns it to the applicant to confirm. The firm's guide to the protection visa statement of claims describes what a complete statement contains.

The third task is the questions the delegate must answer against the applicant. Section 5J(1)(c) requires that the real chance of persecution relate to all areas of the home country, so that the applicant could not reasonably relocate within it, and section 5J(2) asks whether effective protection measures are available there. Section 36(3) asks whether the applicant has a right to enter and reside in a third country. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne address the relocation and effective protection questions and the third country question in the submission with country information, because a delegate who accepts the account of harm can still refuse the visa on either of them. Identity is addressed under section 91W and section 91WA.

The fourth task is the interview. Not every applicant is interviewed. Where a delegate schedules one, Immigration Lawyers Melbourne prepare the applicant to give the account in the applicant's own words and attend the interview. The firm's guide to protection visa interview preparation explains what the interview involves. After the interview the firm lodges any post-interview submission and any further country information the delegate has asked for.

The fifth task is status while the application is pending. An applicant who was lawful at lodgement is granted a Bridging Visa A; an applicant who was unlawful is granted a Bridging Visa E, often with conditions that restrict work. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne advise on the conditions, on the consequence of breaching them, and on the section 48A bar, which prevents a second protection visa application in Australia once one has been refused unless the Minister lifts the bar. That bar is the reason the first application must be complete.

How do Immigration Lawyers Melbourne respond to a visa refusal?

Immigration Lawyers Melbourne respond to a visa refusal by reading the decision record on the day it arrives, identifying the criterion on which the delegate refused under section 65, confirming whether the decision is reviewable and by when, and lodging the review application at the Administrative Review Tribunal within the period stated in the notice. That period is short, it is strictly applied and it cannot be extended. A Melbourne client who receives a refusal notice should treat it as the most urgent document on the file, and My Migration Lawyers does the same.

The decision record is read for its findings, not its conclusion. A partner visa refusal may rest on a finding that the relationship was not genuine and continuing, on Schedule 3, on regulation 1.20J or on public interest criterion 4020. A protection visa refusal may rest on credibility, on the relocation and effective protection questions, or on a finding that the harm feared does not reach the threshold in section 36(2A). Immigration Lawyers Melbourne isolate each adverse finding, because the review is won or lost on the findings. The firm's articles on Subclass 820 visa refusals and on a protection visa refusal and the Administrative Review Tribunal show how the two decision records differ.

Immigration Lawyers Melbourne then advise on the choice between review and a fresh application. On a partner visa matter a fresh application may be available and may be better where the refusal was on evidence that can now be supplied, but section 48 and the applicant's visa status may make review the only course. On a protection visa matter the section 48A bar means that review is almost always the only course. The advice is given in writing, with the deadline stated, before the client decides.

Where the client was refused after representing themselves or after another representative acted, Immigration Lawyers Melbourne take over the file, obtain the Department's record, and read the original application as the delegate read it. That review is done before the review application is lodged, not after, because it determines what the review is about.

How do Immigration Lawyers Melbourne respond to a notice of intention to consider cancellation?

Immigration Lawyers Melbourne respond to a notice of intention to consider cancellation by identifying the section relied on, obtaining the information the Department holds, preparing the client's response with evidence, and lodging it within the response period stated in the notice. The response period is short and strictly applied. A visa holder who does nothing is usually cancelled on the material in the notice.

The section relied on determines the response. Section 109 permits cancellation where the visa holder gave incorrect information or a bogus document, and the notice under section 107 sets out the particulars. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne test whether the information was in fact incorrect, whether the visa holder complied with the disclosure obligations, and how the prescribed circumstances in regulation 2.41 bear on the discretion. Section 116 sets out the general grounds, including that the visa holder has not complied with a condition, that the circumstances which permitted the grant no longer exist, or that the visa holder's presence is a risk to the community. A student in Clayton or Box Hill whose enrolment has been cancelled, or a visitor in St Kilda who has worked in breach of condition 8101, is usually a section 116 matter, and the response addresses both the ground and the discretion.

Section 501 is different in kind and in consequence. Cancellation on character grounds turns on whether the visa holder passes the character test in section 501(6), and where cancellation is mandatory under section 501(3A) the response is a request for revocation under section 501CA. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne prepare a section 501 response by addressing the considerations in the Ministerial Direction made under section 499 that applies at the time, with evidence on each: the protection of the Australian community, the strength and duration of ties to Australia, the interests of any minor children, and the hardship that removal would cause.

In every cancellation matter the response is evidence, not argument. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne gather the enrolment records, the medical records, the employment records, the statements from family and community, and the client's own account, and present them against each consideration the decision maker must weigh. Where the visa is cancelled despite the response, the firm advises on review at the Administrative Review Tribunal within the review period, which is again short and strictly applied. The client's visa status after cancellation, including whether a bridging visa can be applied for, is addressed in the same advice.

How do Immigration Lawyers Melbourne handle section 56 and section 57 correspondence?

Immigration Lawyers Melbourne handle Department correspondence by treating each letter as a decision point, reading it for what the delegate is actually concerned about, and answering within the period stated with evidence and a submission. Correspondence from the Department is where many matters are decided in substance before the formal decision is made.

A request under section 56 of the Migration Act 1958 asks for further information. It may be routine, such as a police certificate or a health examination, or it may signal a concern, such as a request for further evidence of cohabitation on a partner visa or further evidence of identity on a protection visa. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne read the request for the concern behind it and answer the concern, not only the question. The firm's guide to a section 56 request for more information explains how a request is read.

A letter under section 57 is different. It means the Department holds information that is adverse to the applicant, that the delegate considers relevant, and that the applicant has not seen, and it invites the applicant to comment before the decision is made. On a partner visa the information is commonly a statement from a former partner, an anonymous allegation, or a discrepancy between the application and an earlier one. On a protection visa it is commonly country information, a discrepancy with an earlier visa application, or the record of an entry interview. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne obtain the full particulars, take the client's instructions on each item, and draft a response that addresses the information directly with evidence. The firm's article on responding to a section 57 natural justice letter sets out the approach on a partner visa matter, and the same discipline applies on a protection visa matter.

Immigration Lawyers Melbourne also manage the client's own notifications. A change of address, a new passport, a new child, a change in employment or a change in the relationship must be notified on Form 1022, and the firm lodges the notification and advises on its consequences. The firm's guide to Form 1022 change of circumstances explains what must be notified and when. A change that is discovered by the Department rather than notified becomes an integrity concern.

How do Immigration Lawyers Melbourne run an Administrative Review Tribunal review?

Immigration Lawyers Melbourne run a review at the Administrative Review Tribunal by lodging the application within the strict period, obtaining the Department's file, identifying each finding in the decision record that must be displaced, gathering the new evidence that displaces it, preparing the client to give evidence at the hearing, lodging a written submission, and appearing at the hearing. Review at the Tribunal is a fresh consideration of the criteria, which means the Tribunal decides the matter again on the evidence before it, including evidence that was not before the delegate.

The first task after lodgement is the file. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne obtain the documents the Department gives to the Tribunal and read the delegate's reasons against the applicant's own file to identify what the delegate had, what the delegate did not have, and what the delegate misread. The submission is then organised around the findings. On a partner visa review the new evidence is often updated relationship evidence and further Form 888 statements addressing the period since the refusal. On a protection visa review it is often updated country information and evidence on the relocation and effective protection questions. The firm's guide to what to expect at an Administrative Review Tribunal review explains the sequence.

The second task is the hearing. The Tribunal will ask the applicant, and on a partner visa the sponsor, to give evidence and will test the account against the documents. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne prepare the client by going through the decision record, the statements and the documents so that the client can answer from memory of real events, not from a rehearsed script. Where the Tribunal writes before the hearing inviting comment on information that would be the reason or part of the reason for affirming the decision, the response is prepared with the same care as a section 57 response. The firm's article on the protection visa Administrative Review Tribunal hearing describes a protection hearing in detail.

The third task is the client's status during review. An applicant who held a bridging visa at the time of refusal is generally able to hold a bridging visa while the review is pending, and Immigration Lawyers Melbourne confirm the grant and the conditions, advise on travel, and advise on work. A cancellation review is different again, because the client's former visa is no longer in effect and the bridging position must be addressed at once.

Do Immigration Lawyers Melbourne need an office in Melbourne?

No. Immigration Lawyers Melbourne do not need an office in Melbourne, and My Migration Lawyers does not have one. The firm's only office is at Level 1, 60 Martin Place, Sydney NSW 2000, and it is used by appointment. Migration law is federal law contained in the Migration Act 1958 and the Migration Regulations 1994, which apply identically in Victoria and New South Wales. Applications are lodged online through ImmiAccount. The Department of Home Affairs processes them through national processing arrangements rather than through a local office near the client. The Administrative Review Tribunal hears Melbourne matters at its Melbourne registry and by video, and the firm appears as the matter requires.

Every consultation with My Migration Lawyers is conducted by Zoom, and documents are exchanged through a secure client portal. A client in Melbourne therefore receives exactly the same service as a client in Sydney: the same consultation, the same letter of advice and document checklist, the same fixed fee set out in a costs agreement, and the same lawyer responsible for the matter. The firm acts as Immigration Lawyers Melbourne for clients in Dandenong, Springvale, Footscray, Box Hill, Glen Waverley, St Kilda, Sunshine, Clayton, Werribee and Craigieburn, and for clients in Geelong and regional Victoria.

The Melbourne matters the firm sees are shaped by the city. International students at the universities in Clayton, Parkville and the city whose enrolment has ended and who face a section 116 notice, or who have a protection claim they have never raised. Visitor visa holders staying with family in Springvale, Sunshine or Craigieburn who have formed a relationship and hold condition 8503. Working holiday makers and regional workers in the Goulburn Valley or around Geelong whose partner is an Australian citizen. Couples in Footscray or Box Hill with a partner still overseas who need a Subclass 309 application run from both ends. People in Dandenong or Werribee who received a refusal or a cancellation notice and have lost time before seeking advice. Each is a matter the firm runs as Immigration Lawyers Melbourne without a Melbourne address. The firm's guide to choosing a migration lawyer for Melbourne sets out what a Melbourne client should ask before engaging anyone.

How My Migration Lawyers acts as Immigration Lawyers Melbourne

My Migration Lawyers acts as Immigration Lawyers Melbourne for clients across Melbourne, Geelong and regional Victoria on partner visas, Subclass 866 protection visas, visa refusals and visa cancellations. The firm's practice is led by Weiwei Zhang, Principal Lawyer, who is responsible for the assessment, the letter of advice and the submissions on every matter the firm accepts.

The firm acts in many matters of exactly this type: Subclass 820 and 801 applications by applicants in Melbourne, Subclass 309 and 100 applications by applicants overseas with a Melbourne sponsor, Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage visa applications, Subclass 866 protection visa applications by visitor and student visa holders in Melbourne, section 56 and section 57 responses, responses to notices of intention to consider cancellation under section 109, section 116 and section 501, and review at the Administrative Review Tribunal following refusal or cancellation. Complex matters are the firm's ordinary work, and the firm is equipped to run them: applications complicated by Schedule 3, condition 8503, regulation 1.20J, public interest criterion 4020, the section 48A bar and family violence are accepted as a matter of course.

On every matter, My Migration Lawyers provides a written letter of advice and a document checklist after the consultation, runs the Visa Entitlement Verification Online check and obtains the immigration history itself, plans the evidence against the criteria that will decide the matter, reviews and corrects the client's own statements, drafts the submissions the matter requires, lodges the application or the response, answers every Department letter within its deadline, and calendars every date on the file. Every consultation is by Zoom, every document passes through the secure client portal, and every matter is charged as a fixed fee set out in the costs agreement before work begins.

Clients who want Immigration Lawyers Melbourne to assess their matter can request a consultation with My Migration Lawyers through the firm's online form. The firm's visa cancellations page and visa refusals page describe the review and response work in more detail.