* are outside their country of nationality or their usual country of residence
* are unable or unwilling to return or to seek the protection of that country due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion and
* are not war criminals or people who have committed serious non-political crimes.
Australia provides assistance for some asylum seekers during the period in which their application for protection are processed. These assistance includes financial assistance for basic living essentials, assistance in preparing their protection application, access to work rights, and access to Medicare.
How do I apply for a Protection Visa?
If you wish to seek asylum in Australia, you have to submit several forms that will determine whether your application will be granted with a Permanent Protection Visa (PPV) or just a Temporary Protection Visa (TPV).
The initial form that must be passed is the Application for a Protection (Class XA) visa which can be obtained through any department or if you are currently in immigration detention, through any departmental office. The assessment for protection visas has been designed to avoid any need for an applicant to make use of migration experts. However, if you wish to be advised on the matter, you have to be sure that the professionals whom you are dealing with are registered in the Migration Agents Registration Authority.
One such migration expert is National Visas (www.nationalvisas.com.au) who have keen agents waiting to help and assist people who are in dire need to get their visas, may that be for protection, for tourists and whatnots.
Assessment of the Visa
The visa application will be assessed by departmental case managers trained in the law, policy and procedures concerning the Refugees Convention and Protection visas. The case manager assesses the applicant's claims to Australia's protection against the Refugees Convention definition of a refugee, Australia's domestic laws, and all information about the conditions in the asylum seeker's country of citizenship or usual residence. Applicants are expected to put their claims in writing. An interview is not essential, but a case manager may ask an applicant to attend an interview if further information is required.
Applicants who are refused a Protection visa will receive a written decision setting out the reasons for that decision. Applicants may, within 28 days of notification of the decision, apply to the appropriate tribunal for a full merits review of their case.
If the Refugee Review Tribunal affirms a decision to refuse a Protection visa, the Minister has a personal non-compellable power to substitute a more favourable decision (example: grant a visa) if the Minister considers that it is in the public interest to do so.
This enables the Minister to grant a visa to a person who has been found not to be owed Australia's protection obligations but where other compelling circumstances exists.
In application for a Protection visa, we must always remember that decisions are made on the individual circumstances of each applicant's claims. There is no blanket approval or refusal of applications based on broad assumptions, for example about the safety of particular countries.
National Visas
E-mail: webmaster@nationalvisas.com.au
Address: 3/118 Church Street
Hawthorn, Victoria
Australia 3122
Phone: +61(0) 3 9697 4922
Fax: +61 (0) 3 9815 1544