Temporary protection visa
(subclass 785)
The visa mentioned is designed for individuals who have arrived in Australia without a visa and are seeking asylum. It allows temporary stay in Australia for those who meet the country’s protection obligations and fulfill all other visa requirements.
- The visa permits temporary residence in Australia for a duration of 3 years.
- Holders are allowed to work and study and can access government services like Centrelink.
- To be eligible, individuals must either engage Australia’s protection obligations or be part of the same family unit as someone who does.
- Additionally, they must fulfill all other visa prerequisites, including health, character, identity, and security checks.
With this visa, you can
- The visa allows temporary residence in Australia for a period of 3 years, during which individuals can live, work, and study in the country.
- They have access to various government services such as jobactive, Medicare, and Centrelink services.
- Additionally, they can avail short-term counseling for torture and trauma if needed.
- Eligible individuals can attend English language classes for free.
- Moreover, they may travel overseas to countries other than their home country if they obtain written approval from the authorities due to compassionate or compelling circumstances.
How long you can stay on Protection Visa
This visa is temporary, allowing individuals to remain in Australia for a duration of 3 years.
Stay longer
If granted this visa and you arrived in Australia on or after February 14, 2023, you may apply for another Temporary Protection visa (TPV) or a Safe Haven Enterprise visa (SHEV) before your current TPV expires. However, this is contingent upon your continued need for Australia’s protection and absence of any application bars. Additionally, certain TPV holders may be eligible to apply for a permanent Resolution of Status (RoS) visa (subclass 851).
Apply from
You and any family members included in your application must be physically present in Australia when you apply for this visa.
Including family members
Members of the same family unit may apply together on the same application. They must:
- Be in Australia at the time of application.
- Be eligible to apply for this visa
Members of the same family unit are:
- Spouse or de facto partner of the family head.
- Dependent child or step-child of the family head.
- Dependent child or step-child of the family head’s partner.
- Other dependent relatives of the family head
- The family head can be you. It can also be someone else in your family who has not applied for this visa.
A dependent child is a child or step-child who is under 18 years old. A dependent child can be 18 years old or older if they are:
- Incapacitated for work due to loss of their bodily or mental functions; or.
- Wholly or substantially reliant on their parent or step-parent for financial, psychological, or physical support
A child or step-child of any age is not considered to be a dependent child if they are currently married, engaged to be married, or in a de facto relationship.
Children who are not dependent children must apply for their own visa.
Other dependent relatives may include relatives such as the family head’s:
- Parent
- Â Brother/sister
- Â Grandparent/grandchild
- Aunt/uncle
- Cousin
- Niece/nephew or step equivalent to any of the above
A relative will be considered a dependent relative of the family head if they:
- Do not have a spouse or de facto partner
- Â Usually live with the family head; and
- Â Are wholly or substantially reliant on the family head for financial, psychological, or physical support
Members of the same family unit applying for this visa must meet our health, character, and security requirements.
Newborn child
If a child is born after you submit your application and before we make a decision on your application, the child will be taken to be included in that application. You must notify us as soon as possible by:
- Â Completing Form 1022 Notification of change of circumstances (172KB PDF).
- Providing a clear color copy of their original birth certificate.
- Attaching them in ImmiAccount or sending them by post to the address where you sent your application (you will need to send a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate if you send it by post).
If your child is born in Australia, they are automatically granted the same visas their parents hold at the time of the child’s birth.
If either parent is an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident at the time of the child’s birth, the child may be an Australian citizen by birth. See the requirements for evidence of Australian citizenship.
Processing times
For an indication of processing times for this visa, you can use the visa processing time guide tool. However, please note that this tool provides information on recently decided applications and is not specific to your application.
We aim to finalize TPV applications as quickly as possible, but due to the complexity of the process, it may take some time. You can assist us in expediting your application by responding promptly to any requests from us within the specified timeframes.
Your application may experience delays if:
- You do not fill in your application correctly.
- You fail to include all the necessary documents.
- We require additional information from you.
- You do not respond promptly to our requests for information.
- It takes us time to verify the information provided in your application.
Fast Track Assessment process
Your TPV or SHEV application will be assessed under the Fast Track Assessment process if you meet the following criteria:
- Â You are considered an unauthorised maritime arrival.
- You entered Australia between 13 August 2012 and 1 January 2014.
- You have never been transferred to a regional processing country.
- Additionally, all subsequent TPV and SHEV applications made on or after 2 April 2019 will also be assessed under the Fast Track Assessment process.
It’s important to note that the Minister may also choose to assess other applicants under the Fast Track Assessment process on a case-by-case basis.
The Fast Track Process
Under the Fast Track Assessment process, we aim to streamline the visa application process for individuals seeking protection in Australia. If we have any inquiries or doubts regarding your protection claims or other provided information, we will afford you an opportunity to respond either in writing or through an interview.
You will be given a limited timeframe within which to provide any new information or address any concerns we may have before we make a decision on your application. It is crucial that you respond promptly and provide any necessary new information within the specified timeframes.
Review rights
Under the Fast Track Assessment process, access to merits review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) is restricted, except in cases where your TPV is refused on character grounds.
If your application does not engage Australia’s protection obligations, you may still receive a limited form of merits review by the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA). The Department will automatically refer your case to the IAA, unless you are designated as an excluded fast track review applicant. In such cases, you will not be eligible for merits review of your refusal decision.
The IAA will only consider information that was available at the time of the initial decision, including the information provided in your TPV application. You may only present new information to the IAA under exceptional circumstances.
Upon refusal of your TPV application, your refusal letter will outline any merits review rights available to you. Specifically, it will inform you whether your case has been referred directly to the IAA, the timeframe within which you may apply for review at the AAT, or if you are ineligible for merits review as an excluded fast track review applicant.
Excluded fast track review applicants
You will be designated as an excluded fast track review applicant if:
You have access to a safe third country where you can seek protection, or you are a national of two or more countries.
You entered Australia previously and applied for a protection visa while in Australia, but that application was either refused or withdrawn.
You were denied protection in another country, including by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
You made “manifestly unfounded” claims for protection, meaning your claims lack substance.
You provided us with a bogus document as part of your protection visa application without a reasonable explanation.
If we determine that you may fall into one of these categories, we will notify you and provide an opportunity for you to comment and provide additional information before making a decision on your status as an excluded fast track review applicant.
If we decide that you are an excluded fast track review applicant and refuse your TPV application, you will not be able to seek merits review of that decision.
Your obligations
You and any family members included in your visa application must comply with all visa conditions and adhere to Australian laws during your stay in Australia.
To understand the specific conditions that apply to your visa, please refer to the details in your visa grant notification or visit the official Australian government website for information on visa conditions.
See related: Protection Visa (Subclass866)
Travel
Waiting for your TPV application to be decided
If you depart Australia before a decision is made on your Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) application, your bridging visa associated with the TPV application will cease to be valid. Consequently, you will not be permitted to return to Australia unless you hold another valid visa at the time of your intended re-entry.
If you hold a Temporary Protection visa
If you have been granted a Temporary Protection Visa (TPV), it is subject to visa condition 8570, which restricts your travel. This means that you must comply with the conditions outlined in your visa, including restrictions on traveling outside Australia.
Visa condition 8570
Visa condition 8570, which pertains to restricted travel, imposes limitations on your ability to travel. Specifically, you are prohibited from traveling to your home country under any circumstances. Additionally, you may only enter another country if you have compelling or compassionate reasons for travel and have obtained written approval from the Department of Home Affairs before departing Australia.
Failure to adhere to this condition by traveling overseas without prior written approval from the Department may result in a breach of visa condition 8570. Consequently, your visa, as well as the visas of any accompanying family members, may be canceled while you are outside of Australia.
For further details, refer to the “Leaving Australia” section or contact the Department of Home Affairs for clarification.
Visa label
Your visa will be digitally linked to your travel document or ImmiCard. As a result, you will not receive a physical label in your travel document.
Withdraw your application
If you hold a bridging visa and decide to withdraw your Temporary Protection visa application before a decision is made, it’s important to note the following:
- Your withdrawal request must be made in writing and include:
- Your full name
- Â Date of birth
- Details of the application you are withdrawing
If there are additional applicants who are 18 years of age or older, they must also sign the letter of withdrawal or send a separate email or letter to withdraw their application.
Upon withdrawal, your bridging visa will expire 35 days after the withdrawal date.
You have the option to withdraw your Temporary Protection visa application at any time before a decision is made.
Eligibility
Arrived in Australia illegally
If you hold a bridging visa and decide to withdraw your Temporary Protection visa application before a decision is made, it’s important to note the following: Your withdrawal request must be made in writing and include: – Your full name – Date of birth – Details of the application you are withdrawing If there are additional applicants who are 18 years of age or older, they must also sign the letter of withdrawal or send a separate email or letter to withdraw their application. Upon withdrawal, your bridging visa will expire 35 days after the withdrawal date. You have the option to withdraw your Temporary Protection visa application at any time before a decision is made.
Be a refugee or satisfy Australia’s complementary protection criteria
To be eligible for a Temporary Protection visa, you must meet the following criteria as defined by the Migration Act 1958:
Refugee Status: You must be recognized as a refugee under international law. This means you have a well-founded fear of persecution in your home country due to your race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Complementary Protection Criteria: Alternatively, you may be eligible if you meet the criteria for complementary protection. This means that if you are not recognized as a refugee but face a real risk of serious harm, such as torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, or arbitrary deprivation of life, if returned to your home country, you may still qualify for protection.
In essence, Australia will not return individuals to their home countries if there is a credible risk that they would face harm or persecution upon return, thus triggering Australia’s obligations to provide protection.
Meet our identity requirements
As part of your Temporary Protection visa application, you may be asked to provide documents to establish your identity, nationality, or citizenship. It’s essential to cooperate and submit these documents promptly to facilitate identity verification processes.
Additionally, you may be required to provide biometric information, such as fingerprints and a digital photograph of your face, if you haven’t already done so in previous applications.
The information collected about your identity will be utilized during the assessment of your protection claims, as well as for conducting character and security checks. Therefore, it’s crucial to provide accurate and complete information during the application process.
Not be barred from lodging a TPV application
To be eligible to apply for a Temporary Protection visa, certain criteria must be met. However, there are circumstances where you may not be able to make a valid application. These include:
- If you arrived in Australia as an unauthorized maritime arrival.
- If you were immigration cleared upon your arrival in Australia.
- If you have been refused a protection visa since your last arrival in Australia.
- If you have had a protection visa canceled since your last arrival in Australia.
- If you hold or have held a Humanitarian Stay (Temporary)(subclass 449) visa since your last entry into Australia.
- If you are classified as a transitory person.
Please note that the Minister has the authority to lift any application bars in the public interest, and this may have already been done in your case. If any application bar affects your Temporary Protection visa application, you will be informed accordingly.
Meet our security requirements
As part of the application process for a Temporary Protection visa, your eligibility will be assessed to ensure that you meet Australia’s security requirements for the visa to be granted.
Meet our health requirement
You must undergo health examinations to ensure the protection of your health and the health of the Australian community. These examinations are conducted by Bupa Medical Services. After you have lodged your visa application, you will receive a health identifier (HAP ID) and instructions on how to arrange your health examinations.
Meet our character requirement
You must meet certain character requirements to be eligible for the visa.
Sign the Australian values statement
If you are 18 years of age or older, you must confirm that you have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia booklet, and you must agree to respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws when you sign or accept the Australian Values Statement.