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Family Violence provisions for Skilled visa applications

by | Oct 22, 2024 | Migration

The Department of Affairs has extended family violence provisions to seven Skilled visa subclass, allowing secondary applicants to access family violence protections. These Skilled visas include:

  1. Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186)
  2. Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187)
  3. Skilled — Independent (subclass 189)
  4. Skilled — Nominated (subclass 190)
  5. Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) (subclass 191)
  6. Global Talent (subclass 858)
  7. Skilled – Regional (subclass 887)

These family violence provisions mean that a secondary applicant can be granted their visa, even if their relationship with the primary applicant has ceased, if:

  • The secondary applicant, as a member of their family unit has experienced family violence committed by the primary applicant;
  • The secondary applicant was in Australia when the time the application was lodged or entered Australia since lodgement;
  • The primary applicant is granted their visa, or is refused their visa on grounds relating to family violence.

Interestingly, under the subclass 186 and 187 visas which require all applicants to be included in the business nomination, secondary applicants seeking finalisation of their visa based on the family violence provisions are not required to be included in the nomination application, and they are no longer required to be a member of the family unit of the primary applicant.

If the primary applicant’s visa is refused for family violence-related reasons, the secondary applicant can seek review of that decision without a fee.

Further, the requirement for secondary applicants to pay a second Visa Application Charge (VAC) instalment is waived if they cannot demonstrate functional English and meet family violence provisions.

The amendment maintains that all visa applicants and their family unit members must meet public interest and special return criteria, regardless of their current relationship status with the primary applicant.

This is a welcome development and a real action on the Department’s part to better support family violence survivors who are often vulnerable and are afraid of the consequences of seeking help.

Should you need to seek to us about your visa options, please do not hesitate to reach out to us to discuss.

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