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Protection Visa (Subclass 866)

The Protection (Subclass 866) Visa is a part of Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian program. This visa is for refugees and asylum seekers in Australia who fear persecution or significant harm if they return to their home country. To apply for this visa, you must arrive or have arrived in Australia legally on a valid visa. This visa allows you to sponsor your eligible family members for permanent residence through the offshore Humanitarian Program. You can include members of your family unit which include your spouse, or de facto partner, dependent children, step-children and dependent relatives (which may include parent, brother/sister, grandparent/grandchild, aunt/uncle, cousin, niece/nephew, or step equivalent to any of the above) in your application if they are with you in Australia at the time of application.

Length of the Visa

The Protection (Subclass 866) Visa is a permanent visa. It allows you to say in Australia indefinitely. You are able to apply for Australian citizenship once you meet the eligibility criteria.

Eligibility Criteria

Must be in Australia
Must have arrived in Australia legally on a valid visa
Must be a refugee or meet the complementary protection criteria in order to engage Australia’s protection obligations
Must meet health, character, security and identity requirements
Be willing to sign the Australian Values statement

Who is a Refugee?

Under the Australia Migration Act, a refugee is a person who is outside their home country and owing to a ‘well-founded fear of persecution’ is unable or unwilling to return to their home country or to seek the protection of that country.

You have a Well-founded fear of persecution if:

you fear serious harm because of your race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion (“Five Reasons”).
there is a real chance that if you return to your home country, you would be persecuted for one or more of the Five Reasons.
the real chance of persecution relates to all areas of your home country
at least one of the Five reasons is the essential and significant reason for the persecution
the persecution involves both ‘serious harm’ to you and ‘systematic and discriminatory conduct’.

Complementary Protection Criteria

Complementary protection is protection for those who are not refugees, but who can’t return to their home country because they will suffer certain types of harm which engage Australia’s other protection obligations. These obligations come from the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and have been incorporated into the Act.

You can be granted a protection visa on the basis of complementary protection if there are substantial grounds for believing that there is a real risk you will suffer ‘significant harm’ if you were removed from Australia to your home country.

Significant Harm

Significant harm involves arbitrary deprivation of life, the death penalty, torture, cruel or inhuman treatment or punishment, or degrading treatment or punishment.

It is not considered to be a real risk that you will suffer significant harm if:

it would be reasonable for you to relocate to an area of the country where you would not be a real risk of significant harm
you could obtain protection from the authority of your home country so that there would not be a real risk of significant harm, or
the real risk is one faced by the population of the country generally and is not faced by you personally.

Limits on Lodging an Application

You are not eligible to make a valid application for this visa if any of the following circumstances apply to you:

You have previously been refused a protection visa since last entering Australia.
You have had a protection visa cancelled since last entering Australia
You are a national of two countries
You have protection in a prescribed safe third country
You hold or ever held any of the visas listed below:

Temporary Protection visa (subclass 785)
Temporary Safe Haven visa (subclass 449)
Temporary (Humanitarian Concern) visa (subclass 786)
Safe Haven Enterprise visa (subclass 790)

Application Process

You must be in Australia to apply for a Protection (Subclass 866) Visa. You can lodge your application online. There are no processing times available for the visa application at this point in time. However, your application may take more than 12 months before it is finalised due to the complex nature of the application.

Costs

There is a minimal fee of $35 AUD

Free Visa Assessment

We can help determine your eligibility for the Protection visa. Please email us your details at info@nadeemlawyers.com.au or call us on 02 96357903 and we will provide you with more detailed information on the steps, fees and process.

DISCLAIMER: The information provided here is only for general understanding and does not constitute legal advice.

Nadeem lawers

Nadeem Lawyers is a law practice with a focus on Immigration, Business & Property Conveyancing, Family Law, and Wills & Estate. We are conveniently located in the Parramatta CBD. We pride ourselves on our personable approach and focus on establishing long-term relationships with our clients. Our team is committed to achieving meaningful results for our clients in a cost-effective manner. We feel a great sense of achievement when we see our clients emerging happier at the conclusion of their matters.