So your visa application has been refused? Not to worry. Receiving a visa application refusal can be upsetting, but the good news is that you may be able to have another go!
In Australia, we have the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). Put simply, it’s a committee that can give your application a second look.
Are you eligible for review?
Under immigration law, the AAT can’t grant you a visa but it can review many types of visa refusal and cancellations. The legislation tells us what type of applications the AAT can review and what it cannot.
Applying to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal
Review applications can be lodged using the forms provided by the AAT on their website and can be submitted online, by post or fax or in hand to a registry of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. However, it’s important that you don’t just complete an application and submit it. If your review is rejected, you won’t be allowed to reapply without significant legal effort and the process can get complicated. If you have any hesitations, contact a migration agent.
Meeting the time limits
Strict time restraints are enforced when applying for a visa review, including submitting the payment. These can range from two to seventy days. It’s essential that you check the time limit for relevant to your visa, as AAT has no power to hear applications lodged outside of the allocated time.