In Migration Law the little things matter. For example, if you are on a bridging visa awaiting the outcome of a permanent residence visa application, you are required to advise the Department of Immigration of any change in address. To not do so puts you in a position where you may have your visa refused. Two examples that have occurred recently are:-
- An applicant for a visa did not advise either the Department of Immigration or his agent that he had changed address. He had also changed his mobile phone and email address. As such any correspondence could not be received by him nor forwarded to him. The fact that he had an agent and that agent received the advice from the Department but could not respond without the clients instructions lead to the refusal of his spouse visa. Eventually when he did contact his agent he was out of time to lodge an appeal. He has to now leave the country and apply again from offshore. This means inconvenience and additional costs for him
- An applicant who was an itinerant fruit picker had no stable address and as such could not receive correspondence from the Department. His lack of ability to speak English hampered his ability to understand the correspondence received from the Department. Hence a simple request for further information was not received by him. This resulted in his visa being refused. Fortunately, he contacted the Department within the appeal period to be advised of the visa refusal. He has now had to pay the Tribunal an application fee of $1673 in addition to legal expenses to mount the appeal.
You should always ensure that the Department has your current address details. You should ensure that your Migration Agent also has a current address email or contact phone number for you. The failure to do so can cause major problems for you.
If you have any problems with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection you should contact a migration solicitor immediately.