Turner Coulson Immigration Lawyers - Australian Immigration Articles
Migration Review Tribunal
Has Your Visa Application Been Refused or your Visa Cancelled
The Migration Review Tribunal (MRT), and similar trbunals, is a person's last opportunity to have a visa refusal or cancellation reviewed and overturned on the Merits, i.e. on its facts.
The Migration Review Tribunal is the last opportunity to bring new evidence to support your case or application that was refused by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
It is, therefore, important to obtain proper legal advice before going to the MRT to ensure the hearing at the Migration Review tribunal will have been conducted strategically to maximise the chances of the visa application being granted or the visa reinstated or, if unsuceesful, of a successful appeal against the Tribunal's decison to the Federal Magistrate’s Court .
It is important to note the Federal Magistrates Court and Federal Court are not able to consider fresh evidence and can only consider whether your case was legally and/or fairly considered by the Migration Review Tribunal.
The tribunals which conduct merits review of Australian migration decisions are:
- Migration Review Tribunal (MRT) - the Migration Review Tribunal handles review of the majority of Australian visa cases eliglble for review undert the Migration Act 1958.
- Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) – handles decisions in relation to visa cancellation on character grounds, business visa cancellations and deportation and citizenship.
- Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) - decisions in relation to onshore protection visa applications are reviewable by the RRT.
Note that there are strict time limits which are applicable to the lodgement of review applications.
Please contact us immediately if you have been notified by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship of an Australian visa refusal or visa cancellation as time limits for lodging an appeal are strict and inflexible
Turner Coulson Immigration Lawyers have accredited specialisation in migration law and have extensive experience running matters in all Australian migration review tribunals and Courts.
For more information see the following article by Ray Turner, Principal Solicitor at Migration Review Tribunal - Has your visa application been refused or your visa cancelled?
The Migration Review Tribunal and Refugee Tribunal home page can be found at
http://www.mrt-rrt.gov.au/