Migration Laws in Australia
Task 1
Section A
Visa Condition
For one to understand the different visa conditions within the Australian migration regulation, it is important to have a clear understanding of what these visa conditions represent. They can simply be identified as regulations that are defined by the Australian migration regulation body that are to be complied with by the visa holder and a neglect of these laws result to legal charges on the visa holder. These conditions are place in two distinct categories namely the discretionary and the mandatory visa conditions. Mandatory visa conditions are those conditions that are provided with a MUST condition set by the migration regulation. On the other hand, the discretionary visa conditions are provided with a MAY be in the instance where the decision maker is introduced to the picture to make the decision involving a particular condition. A violation of these visa conditions results to cancellation of the visa in accordance with the Australian Migration Act Section 116(1)(b).
In relation to our case, her visa has multiple conditions that need clear verification for her to understand these conditions these are 8101, 8201, 8503. Condition 8101 on her visa restricts her from engaging in any form of work within the borders of Australia. This means in case she is found working with this visa she is in violation of the migration regulation. The condition restricts her from indulging in any form of business within the country during her stay since the condition specifically defines the form of her visa has a limitation towards work related activities. The other condition on her visa is the 8201 condition which stipulates that the holder is not to engage in any training within the country which extends a duration of more than 3 months. The training can either be educational purposes or another form of training[1]. It allows the visa holder to participate in trainings which are of less than that duration and in any chance, this is not the case then the visa older is in violation of the migration regulation body. However there are a few exceptions which are covered under the subclause (1) and specify some of the visas with these exceptional. Subclause 580 (Student Guardian) visa this is in relation to a case where the holder is undertaking an ELICOS of less than 20 hours every week, Subclass 602 (Medical treatment) in which the visa holder is under 18 years, the holder experiences a change of circumstances while in Australia or has a written permission from the ministry that allows them to engage for more than three months in any particular studies or training in the country based on compelling and compassionate circumstances[2]. This applies to visa Subclass 675 (Medical treatment (Short term)) and via subclass 685(Medical treatment (Log term)) as well.
In respect to our case, the visa holder also has another condition which is 8503 which clearly states that the via holder cannot get a substantive visa after they have entered the country, other than a protection visa while they are within the borders of Australia. This is in respect to the Australian Migration Regulation. A substantive visa is inclusive of all the other types of visa with an exception of a bridging visa, an enforcement visa or a criminal justice visa. The observation of all these visa conditions is important for the card holder to ensure that they do not lose their visa while in the country which result to them being deported back to their home country.
Section B
As seen from our case her visa has expired but she had already applied for the other visa before the expiration of her current visa. This indicates that her visa status has already expired but she has the application that is yet to be approved, with this in mind and that application approval in process it is important for her to apply for a bridging visa. If one is to calculate the time she has been in the country as per the information given, it is evident at that her visa has expired roughly a week ago but fortunately she had made arrangements for a new visa. Its important to also understand what a bridging visa is, and as per the Australian Migration regulation a bridging visa is a temporary visa that will allow her or any other migrant in Australia to stay in the country after he previous substantive visa has ceased to be operational and the holder has applied for the other visa[3]. As per condition 8503 as seen in the previous section, she has the right to apply for the bridge visa since these falls under the exceptional visa. But it is also important to consider the part where she is required to make changes to the nature of via to apply for. since she had earlier applied for a visa class FA subclass 600 this has to be changed to a Medical Treatment (Class UB) (subclass 602) since her stay at this point is not on the basis of tourist but a patient who is in the country for medical reasons.
Section C
After the injury in respect to our case, she requires a temporary medical via that can give her the rights to be in the country legally for medical purposes. The Australian migration regulations has provided a visa provision for such cases in the country that is referred to as the Medical Treatment (Class UB) (subclass 602) visa[4]. As per the state of the injuries she has attained this is a visa that she is required to have which is contrary to her previous applied via but since such accidents aren’t anticipated, legally it is possible for her t apply for this particular visa. As per the case, her doctor has requested her to hold any travel plans that she may have had for the next few weeks to get the injuries under control as well as facilitate the healing process and give her the chance for consultation with the doctor who treated her injuries. With this visa a support person is also able to attain the subclass 602 visa in order to provide Fidelma or any other person in such a case with emotional and other support. There are different requirements that one has to meet in order to be able to get the visa, these includes; one must have a medical treatment plan or a medical consultation in Australia. Fidelma currently has a medical consultation in the country since after the accident she is rushed to the hospital in the country and the doctor attending to her is in the country, also the doctor has proposed a medical plan which involves a 40day rest without traveling. The other requirement for one to get the visa such as going to donate an organ to someone in the country, going to receive an organ from a person who travels in to Australia with you, the visa can also be issues to a patient where there have been arrangements between the Western Province of Papua New Guinea and the Queensland Department of health, and finally the visa can be issues to a patient over the age of 50 and has been denied permanent visa. There are other qualifications as well that warrant one to get this type of a visa. There are other requirements such as once financial position[5]. This is the ability of one to be able to fuel their medical financial obligations of their treatment in the county. The requirement ensures that the person does not end up becoming a burden to the government the minute they are unable to pay for these treatment charges that they may incur in the process of receiving treatment. In case a financial check is carried out and the person fails to meet these requirements then they are denied the medical visa. Other requirement is also inclusive of the nature of sickness that the person is suffering from. In case the person’s sickness is communicable and may endanger the Australian nationalities then the visa approval may be denied unless the threat can be contained. There are other legal requirements that may hinder one from getting the medical visa which for example may be, the person is a holder of a work (diplomatic/ consular) visa subclass 426, or the Domestic worker stream of the temporary work (international Relations) visa subclass 403. Addressing our case, she qualifies for the 12 months visa if need be since she meets most of the requirements by the Australian Migration regulation. According to these regulations if a person applying for this visa is already in the country then the process is usually guaranteed for a duration of 12 months but these changes in case one is not in the country and its allowed for up to three months unless stated otherwise which has to be legally approved by the right authorities. For the application of the visa she will need a medical letter which is to be prepared by her doctor and signed, this is to be attached with the application documents for the visa and it will in detail include the heath status of the applicant in this case her. The letter also contains the medical consultation with her doctor which is provided by the doctor as well as the medical plan for her healing process. since she has an already expired visa, she has to attach these documents as well together with the new application of the visa that she has not yet received so as t help explain her case to the concerned authority figure effectively. This will help show her legal residence in the country during when she attained the injury that has seen her apply for the new medical visa. The application of the medical visa in the country takes roughly between 27 to 30 days but most of the reported cases take 47 days to clear up. After the approval of the visa, the holder can stay in the country for medical treatment, they can also study in the country for up to 3 months unless they are younger than 18 years of age and conditions or circumstances change while in the country. It is possible for the visa holder to travel in and out of the country while holding the visa before to expires[6]. This ceases to be possible after the expiration of the visa which is dependent of the dates predefined during the application of the visa. There are also financial implications where one is required to pay AUD 290 which applies when in Australia and applicable for our case, the fee applies for applicants already in the country but not for those making the applications outside the country. Conclusively as per the Australian Migration Regulation, one is expected to leave the country before the visa expires so as t avoid any legal cases which involves the illegal residence in the country which turns out to be the status of an immigrant the minute the via expires.
Section D
From the previous section, multiple areas related to this section have been handles although a number of areas are yet to be discussed. The eligibility of this via is based on, several categories which can be broadly divided into a number of classes, first of the class being who could get the visa or a person’s status that needs to check out. These includes the requirements discussed in part 3 of this paper. Such as having a medical treatment plan or a medical consultation in Australia. These have been covered for the case of Fidelma. The other eligibility requirements include the financial category. On has to provide evidence that they have enough money to support them while in the country for the medical purposes. In this process one has to show they have enough money for the treatment and the travel expenses[7]. For this requirement one has to show that they have made financial arrangements for their treatment, for their expenses related to their stay in Australia, and cater for the expenses of any other person that may come to Australia for emotional or other form of support. The other class of eligibility is the health requirements class, which clearly verifies one’s health status before getting the visa approved and is the person in a position to qualify for the sorted health care in the country. There are a number of health requirements that one has to meet. The health examinations that will be needed will depend on one’s personal circumstances, including their period of stay, country of citizenship, time spent in another country during the last five years and your intended activities in Australia. These requirements vary if one is undergoing medical treatment in the country[8]. Also, the results of all these medical requirements are valid for 12 month and one is able to organise for all thee health requirements before they submit their visa application. The other class is based on a person’s character, there is no particular country hat is ready to host a person with a criminal record that may probably posse as a security threat to the host country in our case Australia. The min reason for this class I to ensure that the interest of the country’s residents is upheld. One is required to provide a police certification from each country they have lived for the past12 months or more after 10 year past when one turned 16 years[9]. Also, one does not need to have any debt with the Australian Government. This means that you do not have any outstanding debt to the government or have any arrangement to repay any outstanding debts to the government before one can get the medical visa approved. The Australian government is extremely strict in observing the above defined requirements so as to ensure both the safety of its residents as well as playing its responsibility as an arm of the government responsible for ensuring all the people within the country borders are legally in the country and accounted for. The breach of any of these laws may lead to lack of visa approval or the termination of one’s visa.
Task 2
Bangura v The Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority CMP-37823 (18 September 2018)
There has been provided information regarding this case that has made it a perfect example in respect to the covered information. The case involves a migration agency and the office of the migration agency registration Authority. Mr. Bangura has ben found guilty and his license as an immigration agent has been canceled based on the allegations that have been raised against him. From the case files, he has been charged with a number of illegal charges basically revolving around his involvement in illegal practice namely fraud. He has been accused of fraud charges and according to the proceedings he has been identified as a person of integrity. As covered within the Australian Migration regulations, the migration agents are expected to operate under a professional code of conduct as well as an ethical code of conduct. Integrity is present in both conduct since this shows the transparency of a professional and how much one can be relied upon. For the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority to grant one the license to operate as a migration agent, one has to abide to these conducts but the minute one deviates from these arrangements then this is seen as a breach of both the country’s trust as well as the people one is responsible of serving hence the cancelation of Mr. Bangura’s license. From this it is evident that the agent is in violation of a number of professional code of rules, ethical principles and breach of regulations. As an agent different regulation govern you so as to attain the governments trust in carrying out their immigration agency activities[10]. Fraud is a breach of these set regulations since as an agent one is expected to abide with the set government regulations also this is a breach of the professional code of conduct as well as the ethical principles that govern the migration agencies. In relation to the professional code of conduct, an agent is expected to be honest and trustworthy, the act by Mr. Bangura to try and defraud his insurance company goes against these professional codes of conduct and despite him not having any previous criminal records the magnitude of the case calls for the review of all the previously handled cases by the agency. There are possibilities that the agent has not been abiding to the laws of Australian Migration regulation in these cases, with this in mind it is completely acceptable for the ruling of the court. Professionally it is important for one to be considerate of the others and for the agent to commit fraud, this show the level low level of being considerate of the others including the nation. With this in mind a migration agent is entrusted with the responsibility of considering other people’s needs and helping them out hence once one is charged with such a case the chances of this person being inconsiderate of the other people ends up being higher than what is expected. This explains why the court found him to be of no integrity as seen from the case proceedings. It is important for the agents to acknowledge the magnitude of responsibility tasked to them by the government. The resident of Australia as well since in case on a dishonest agency which lets their practice or professional used for personal gain could in the long run affect the country’s safety. The provided case gives a good example of a migration case that affects not only the involved migration agent but both the government and the lives of the other people. Conclusively, the case decision was made on the 18th of September 2018. From the analysis of the case, it is clear to state that the decision made by the court was completely accurate. Integrity is one of the most important aspects of professional conduct.
References
Bangura v The Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority CMP-37823 (18 September 2018)
Brabeck, Kalina, et al. “Ethical ambiguities in participatory action research with unauthorized migrants.” Ethics & Behavior 25.1 (2015): 21-36. Cambridge University Press.
Forcier, Mélanie Bourassa, Steven Simoens, and Antonio Giuffrida. “Impact, regulation and health policy implications of physician migration in OECD countries.” Human resources for health 2.1 (2004): 12 Cambridge University Press
Freeman, Gary P., ed. Nations of immigrants: Australia, the United States, and international migration. 2011 Oxford University Press
Lester, Eve. Making Migration Law: The Foreigner, Sovereignty, and the Case of Australia. (2018) 6 Cambridge University Press.
Robertson, Shanthi. “Student switchers and the regulation of residency: the interface of the individual and Australia’s immigration regime.” Population, Space and Place 17.1 (2011): 103-115.
