Protection Visa Lawyers for Fijian Citizens in Australia

Protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia advise people from Fiji who fear serious harm if they return, prepare their Subclass 866 protection visa application, and represent them until the matter is decided. My Migration Lawyers does this work for Fijian citizens across Australia, led by Principal Lawyer Weiwei Zhang.

This page explains what protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia do, why honest advice at the start matters so much in Fijian cases, and how My Migration Lawyers works with Fijian clients. The law is explained in the definitive guide to the Subclass 866 protection visa, and the firm's protection practice is described on its protection visa lawyers page.

Does My Migration Lawyers act for Fijian citizens in protection visa matters?

Yes. My Migration Lawyers acts for Fijian citizens in Subclass 866 protection visa matters across Australia, from the first consultation to the Department's decision, and at the Administrative Review Tribunal if the application is refused.

The firm's protection work is led by Principal Lawyer Weiwei Zhang. As protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia, the firm acts for people on visitor, student, work and other visas, for people whose visa has ended, for people whose application was lodged by someone else, and for people whose protection visa has been refused. The Subclass 866 protection visa page explains the visa.

A protection visa is not a work visa

A protection visa is not a work visa, and no Fijian citizen should apply for one as a way to stay and work in Australia. The visa is granted only to people who meet the refugee test or the complementary protection test.

DFAT country information has reported that many Fijian asylum seekers were recruited through scam advertisements promising jobs in Australia. Some people are told that a protection application is a simple way to keep working. It is not. An application without genuine protection claims will be refused. Under section 48A of the Migration Act, a person whose protection visa application is refused in Australia generally cannot make another protection visa application unless the Minister personally intervenes under section 48B. Giving false or misleading information to the Department is also a serious matter.

Protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia have a duty to explain this before anything is lodged. My Migration Lawyers does so at the first consultation. Where a client has no genuine fear of harm, the firm says so, and it does not lodge the application. That advice protects the client. A person who later faces a real threat in Fiji may need the protection system, and a refusal lodged for the wrong reason can take that option away.

Many Fijians in Australia hold visas under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme. A PALM worker who genuinely fears harm in Fiji can apply for a protection visa like anyone else, but the application does not change the conditions of the worker's existing visa, and leaving an approved employer can have consequences for the visa and for future PALM opportunities. The firm advises on these points before the client acts.

When should a Fijian citizen speak to a protection visa lawyer?

A Fijian citizen should speak to a protection visa lawyer before lodging anything, before their current visa ends, and as soon as something happens that makes return unsafe.

Protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia are most useful at these points:

• Before the visa ends. Applying while a visa is still in effect usually keeps the person lawful on a bridging visa.
• Before signing a form someone else prepared. A protection application is declared to be true. Claims written by a recruiter or acquaintance, in words the applicant does not recognise, are very hard to repair.
• Before leaving a PALM employer. The consequences for the existing visa should be understood first.
• After a threat or an escalation. A partner who has made new threats, a relative who has come looking for the client, or a breached restraining order can change the risk quickly, and the evidence is freshest at that time.

The earlier protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia are involved, the more calmly the evidence can be gathered and the less room there is for delay to be held against the claim. The guide on delay in a Subclass 866 application explains how delay is treated.

Why genuine Fijian claims need careful preparation

Genuine Fijian claims need careful preparation because the Department is aware of applications that have no basis, and because Fiji has functioning police and courts. A genuine claim must stand clearly apart. Protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia focus on three issues.

State protection

DFAT country information describes the Fiji Police Force as having the overall capacity to protect people from harassment and violence. The Department usually starts there, and protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia must deal with it directly. The firm's work is to show, with the client's own account and documents, what actually happened when the client sought help, or why seeking help was not safe or would have been useless.

Relocation within a small country

Fiji is geographically small, and DFAT has noted that land held by kin groups and the limited options in Suva make relocation harder in practice. That can help an applicant, but it is not decisive, and protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia cannot rely on it alone. The evidence must show how the person feared could find the client elsewhere, through family, church, village or social media links.

Personal, not general, risk

DFAT has described violent and organised crime in Fiji as generally low, and a risk faced by the population generally does not count for complementary protection. The firm identifies early whether the client has been personally targeted.

A separate guide on protection claims by Fijian nationals covers these issues in detail. The guide to protection visa eligibility explains the basic requirements.

The first consultation with protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia

The first consultation with protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia is a confidential meeting at which the firm hears what happened, tests whether the facts meet the legal test, and explains the next steps honestly.

Requesting a consultation

A consultation is requested through the online form on the book a consultation page. My Migration Lawyers replies by email to arrange a time. Consultations are held by video, so a Fijian client in Brisbane, western Sydney, Adelaide or a regional town is seen in the same way as a client in central Sydney.

What to have ready

A client needs only what they already have:

• their Fiji passport, or a copy;
• any Australian visa grant notice they hold, and any protection visa documents already lodged in their name;
• any documents from Fiji they already have, such as a police report, a domestic violence restraining order, a medical record, messages or photographs; and
• a short timeline of the main events with approximate dates.

No one should delay the consultation to obtain documents from Fiji. The firm can check a client's Australian visa history itself.

Language, gender and privacy

Many Fijian clients speak English well. Some explain painful events more accurately in Fijian or Fiji Hindi, and the firm arranges a professional interpreter where that helps. A woman describing violence by her husband or a relative may prefer a female interpreter, and that preference is respected where possible. At the Department interview, an applicant may also ask for an officer and interpreter of a particular gender.

Fijian communities in Australia are often close, and clients worry that relatives, church members or village contacts will learn of the application. Communications with a lawyer for the purpose of legal advice are confidential and generally protected by legal professional privilege. The Department treats protection claims as confidential and does not disclose them to the government of the country the person fears.

Family members, children and a violent partner in Australia

A spouse and dependent children in Australia can usually be included in one Subclass 866 application as members of the family unit, but a domestic violence claim needs particular care. Protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia check who is in Australia and on which visa before the application is prepared.

Where the violent partner is also in Australia, the client's safety comes first. The firm takes the client's account privately and communicates only through contact details the client confirms are safe. Where a woman fears her husband, the firm advises her on making her own application rather than relying on his. Each family member must also meet the other criteria, such as health and character. Where children have their own risks in Fiji, for example from the same relative, those risks are set out in the application. The protection visa documents checklist lists the documents usually needed for each family member.

Protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia also check whether any family member holds a visa, such as a student or PALM visa, that affects the timing of the application.

What protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia do, step by step

Protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia prepare the application in a set order, with the client's own account at the centre. The steps below are how My Migration Lawyers works.

Step 1: Assessing the claim

The firm decides whether the facts fit the refugee test, complementary protection, or both. A domestic violence claim may fit the refugee test through a particular social group and may also be argued under complementary protection. A threat from a relative over land may depend on complementary protection alone. The page on complementary protection explains that test.

Step 2: The client's own account

The firm takes the client's account in detail, with an interpreter where needed. It is the client's own evidence. The client reviews it, corrects it, and decides which claims are advanced. For protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia, this is the most important step. The firm makes sure the account is complete and presented in the form the law requires, and that it deals honestly with anything the client said in earlier visa applications. The guide to the protection visa statement of claims explains what a full account covers.

Step 3: Evidence from Fiji

In domestic violence claims, useful evidence often includes a domestic violence restraining order made under Fiji's Domestic Violence Act 2009, evidence that the order was breached, police reports and what the police did about them, and medical records. In family and land disputes, letters from a church minister, a village elder or neighbours may confirm what happened. The firm does not ask clients for documents they do not realistically have, and it does not ask relatives to take risks to collect them. The guide to protection visa evidence explains how documents support the account.

Step 4: Country information on Fiji

The Department relies heavily on DFAT country information on Fiji. It is one source, not the last word. DFAT has itself recorded that the police "no drop" policy for domestic violence complaints is not applied in all cases and that women face pressure to reconcile. Protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia use passages like these, together with more specific or more recent reports, to answer the general assessment that protection is available.

Step 5: Identity, Form 866 and lodgement

Identity and nationality are usually shown by the Fiji passport and a birth certificate. The application is made on Form 866 and lodged online through ImmiAccount, and the client signs a Form 956 so that the Department deals with the firm. The guides to Form 866 and Forms 956 and 956A explain both forms.

When someone else has already lodged an application

When someone else has already lodged a protection visa application for a Fijian citizen, protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia should review exactly what was lodged before anything more is sent to the Department.

Some Fijian clients come to the firm after an acquaintance, recruiter or unregistered adviser lodged an application for them. The client may not have seen the form, and the claims in it may not be theirs. The application was still made in the client's name. My Migration Lawyers obtains and reads what was lodged, compares it with the client's own account, and explains the options, which depend on the stage the application has reached. If information given to the Department was wrong, the client decides, with advice, how it is corrected. The firm then acts on the client's genuine account only.

This situation is urgent, and protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia should treat it that way. An interview invitation or a refusal may already be on its way, and the section 48A bar applies once a protection visa is refused.

Interviews, section 56 requests and section 57 invitations

After lodgement, protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia respond to the Department's requests and prepare the client for interview.

A section 56 request asks for more information. A section 57 invitation puts adverse information to the applicant and invites a response. Each has a deadline. The firm prepares the response with the client and lodges it on time. The guide to a section 56 request for more information explains these letters. In Fijian cases, interview questions often focus on police help, why the client could not move elsewhere in Fiji, and why a fear of harm was not mentioned in an earlier visa application. The protection visa interview page explains the process.

Expiring visas, unlawful status and refusals

A Fijian citizen whose visa is about to expire, whose visa has expired, or whose protection visa has been refused should contact the firm immediately. My Migration Lawyers treats these matters as urgent, and protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia should act on them the same day.

A person who applies while holding a substantive visa usually receives a Bridging Visa A, and its conditions, including work rights, depend on the circumstances. A person whose visa has expired is unlawful and may be detained. The guides to the Bridging Visa A and to urgent immigration lawyer advice explain the first steps.

If the Department refuses the application, the decision can usually be reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal. The time limit is short and strictly applied, and it runs from the date of notification. The firm reads the reasons, identifies whether the case turned on state protection, relocation, general risk or credibility, and prepares evidence for the Tribunal. The page on protection visa refusals explains the review process.

How My Migration Lawyers works with Fijian clients

My Migration Lawyers works with Fijian clients by video and email, under a fixed fee agreed in a written costs agreement before any work starts. The same terms apply whenever the firm acts as protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia, at the application stage or at review.

• Fixed fees. The work and the fee for each stage are set out in writing after the first consultation.
• Instructions from the client. Relatives and church members may want to help. They may give evidence, but the firm takes instructions from the client alone.
• Email communication. Every instruction and step is recorded in writing.
• Australia-wide. Clients in every state and territory are served by video. The firm's office is at Level 1, 60 Martin Place, Sydney NSW 2000.

The firm's about page explains the practice. Fijian clients may also find the pages on protection visa lawyers in Sydney and protection visa lawyers in Brisbane useful.

Choosing protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia

When choosing protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia, check that the adviser is authorised, that the fee is in writing, and that the adviser is willing to tell you when a claim does not meet the test.

• Authorisation. An Australian lawyer holds a current practising certificate. Registered migration agents are also authorised to give immigration assistance.
• Written terms. The fee and the work should be agreed in writing before anything is lodged.
• No promises. No adviser can promise that a protection visa will be granted.
• No work-visa offers. Anyone who offers a protection application as a way to get work rights, or who writes claims for you, should be avoided.

The guides on the protection visa lawyer role and on when you need a protection visa lawyer explain these points further.

How My Migration Lawyers acts as protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia

My Migration Lawyers acts as protection visa lawyers for Fijian citizens in Australia who genuinely fear returning to Fiji. The firm deals with complex protection matters and acts in many Subclass 866 matters of this exact type, where the harm comes from a partner, relatives or others and the case turns on state protection, relocation and whether the risk is personal. It is capable of handling these matters from the first consultation to decision, and at review if the visa is refused. It also says plainly when a claim does not meet the legal test.

The work includes:

• Assessing the claim. Whether the facts fit the refugee test, complementary protection, or both.
• The client's own account. Taken with an interpreter where needed. It is the client's own evidence, which the client reviews and corrects, and the client decides which claims are advanced.
• Country information. Answering DFAT country information on Fiji with more specific and more recent evidence.
• State protection and relocation. Preparing evidence on the issues that decide most Fijian claims.
• Form 866 and documents. Preparing the application, identity evidence and documents from Fiji.
• Interview preparation. Preparing the client for the Department interview.
• Requests from the Department. Responding to section 56 requests and section 57 invitations within time.
• Review. Applying to the Administrative Review Tribunal within time if the visa is refused.

The firm is led by Principal Lawyer Weiwei Zhang. More information is on the firm's protection visa lawyers page.

If you are a Fijian citizen in Australia and fear what would happen if you returned, book a consultation with My Migration Lawyers online, or call 1300 040 300.