How Much Is A Visa Worth?

A prospective client contacted me several months ago. His Filipino wife was in Australia on a visitor visa (subclass 676 tourist visa), which had a “no further stay” condition attached to it. This condition prevents a visa holder from applying for multiple temporary or permanent visas while they are in Australia. 'No Further Stay' conditions include 8503, 8534 and 8535.

These are often applied to visa grants from Third World countries if the visa holder is considered a flight risk. In other words, they might continue to stay in Australia without the proper visa. This prevents the applicant from making another application for a visa while they are in Australia.

With this type of visa and condition, the man’s wife now had to leave the country before her subclass 676 tourist visa expired. The problem for them was the she was pregnant and was having some problems with her health, and her doctor did not want her to travel.

She had to leave before the baby was due, but it would be dangerous for her and her unborn child. This was a very stressful situation for this couple to say the least. Nevertheless, what can she do? It is possible to apply for a waiver of the 8503, if there are compelling and compassionate circumstances.

However, Australian immigration authorities rarely grant waivers, especially if the application is done improperly or poorly. Down Under Visa has had success with 8503 waivers before, and we believed that we could help this woman stay in Australia.  

Free Advice?

Apparently, when this bloke contacted me he was just looking for some free advice, because he wanted to apply for the waiver by himself. He sent me a copy of the cover letter he had written, and I told him frankly, that he needed professional help.

I have yet to hear back from him.

There are two things that I find disturbing about this man’s actions. Most importantly, why in God’s name would he endanger his wife’s migration status when getting the wavier was so crucial for her wellbeing and the baby? By trying to take on something that was clearly beyond him, he was considerably reducing their chance of success, as waivers are rarely granted, as I said before.

Australian Migration Law is a specialist area. Wouldn’t it make more sense to enlist the aid of an expert and increase your chance of success? Down Under Visa has actually had several lawyers as clients, because they were intelligent enough to know when to use a specialist.

I can only think that he was just trying to save some money. Which is why I ask, “How much is a visa worth? What price do you put on keeping your wife out of immigration detention? I’d like to think that immigration wouldn’t do that, but they would be within their legal right to do so.

Alternatively, they could deport her and they would have to wait several years for a permanent partner visa, which could be refused. Either way, there is the possibility that they could be apart for years, with no certainty of ever being together in Australia. Is it really worth saving a little bit of money for that?

The second point I would like to make is that while we love helping folks, we are also running a business to earn a living. We’re not giving out a lot of information free, or we would be out of business. Although, out blog post will give you some general knowledge of the issues you have with getting a partner visa.

Down Under Visa is reasonably priced and worth much more than our professional fees. Please don’t hesitate to contact Jeff Harvie and Down Under Visa for any immigration to Australia issue you have. Don’t try to do something so important by yourself. Always insist on a Registered Migration Agent!