Protection Visa
Protection Visa Subclass 866
- You may be eligible for this visa, if you:
- are a refugee or
- meet the complementary protection criteria
Australia must not return people to their home country where there is a risk that the person may suffer harm because they engage Australia’s protection obligations.
- You must have arrived in Australia on a valid visa and be immigration cleared on arrival.
You can’t make a valid application for this visa if you are an unauthorised maritime arrival.
- You must meet identity requirements
The Department of Home Affairs may require documents as evidence of your identity, nationality or citizenship with your application. It is your responsibility to cooperate with the DHA and provide this evidence so identity checks can be completed.
The DHA may ask you to for biometrics (a scan of your fingerprints and a digital photograph of your face) as part of your application.
- You must not be barred from lodging an onshore Protection Visa application
You can’t make a valid permanent protection visa application if you:
- have been refused a protection visa since your last arrival to Australia, or
- have had a protection visa cancelled since your last arrival to Australia, or
- are a national of 2 or more countries, or
- have protection in a prescribed safe third country
The Minister has the power to lift any application bar if it is determined to be in the public interest.
- You must not have held any of these visas:
- – Temporary Protection visa (subclass 785)– Temporary Safe Haven visa (subclass 449)– Temporary (Humanitarian Concern) visa (subclass 786), or– Safe Haven Enterprise visa (subclass 790)
Once granted, you will be entitled to:
- live, work and study in Australia permanently
- access government services such as Medicare and Centrelink services
- sponsor eligible family members for permanent residence through the offshore Humanitarian Program
- travel to and from Australia for 5 years
- if eligible become an Australian citizen
- attend 510 hours of English language classes for free, if you meet certain requirements
Members of the same family unit may apply together on the same application. They must:
- be in Australia at the time of application
- be eligible to apply for this visa
Members of the same family unit are:
- spouse or de facto partner of the family head
- dependent child or step-child of the family head
- dependent child or step-child of the family head’s partner
- other dependent relatives of the family head
As this visa is being misused by people who are trying to extend their stay in Australia at a low cost, there is a very high refusal rate and the DHA scrutiny the process.
Refugee and protection law is quite complex and it is advisable to discuss your matter with a qualified lawyer or a migration agent.