The Australian immigration system is very strict when it comes to assessing the health of visa applicants. But in some circumstances even for those not complying with the health requirements, the Minister of Home Affair has exercised its personal powers conferred by the Immigration Act to grant permanent visas.
Such is the case of seven-year-old Seongjae, who was diagnosed with autism. His family moved to Australia from Korea in 2013 and have established a local business in Cairns.
The permanent skilled visa they applied for was refused due to the condition of the Australian-borne son.
What do the Migration Regulations say about health criteria specifically for Permanent Visas?
Criterion 4005 requires applicants to meet the health requirement and be free of any condition that would pose a burden to the Australian community.
In most cases, applicants who do not meet the requirement will have to demonstrate that the cost of treatment of the condition would not exceed the threshold established by the Department of Home Affairs, which currently is AUD $51,000 within the 5 years after the visa would be granted.
If the applicant goes beyond the threshold, then a visa is refused.
In the case of Seongjae, the family appealed to apply for a Ministerial Intervention with the support of the community.
The Minister has powers under the Migration Act 1958 to intervene in your case when the Minister thinks it is in the public interest to do so. (Section 351 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth)
When the Minister intervenes to make a more favourable decision, this usually means that the Minister grants a visa. However, only a small number of all requests for ministerial intervention are successful.
After a review of Seongjae situation, the Minister decided to grant the visa. A publication of the letter read:
‘The minister had decided to exercise his public interest power to overturn a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and grant Seongjae a permanent Australian visa’
If you need assistance with applying for Ministerial Intervention, Crystal Migration can provide you with the assistance you need. We have several success stories of health waiver and Ministerial intervention in our cases, resulting in the approval of visas of our clients.