Australian Immigration Lawyers

You should choose My Migration Lawyers because we are built around client protection, not sales tactics or applying pressure. Most migration firms focus on getting you to sign quickly and pay upfront. We do the opposite. You do not pay a lump sum at the start. Work is completed first and invoiced in stages, so you are not paying for work that has not been done. At My Migration Lawyers, your matter is handled by expert immigration lawyers who are used to handling complex and high-risk immigration matters, including refusals, cancellations, tribunal appeals, and court judicial review.

Australian migration law exclusively. Partner visas, protection visas, visa refusals and cancellations, Tribunal review, judicial review, and corporate migration for Australian employers.

Find the date on the refusal letter and get advice today. Most refusals carry 28 days to apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal, reduced to 7 working days in immigration detention. For most migration decisions the deadline cannot be extended.

Your visa is still valid and nothing has been decided. A Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation invites a written response, and the period can be as short as five working days. A properly argued response frequently stops the cancellation. See Visa Cancellation

The Department application charge is AUD $11,710 for the primary applicant as at 1 July 2026, covering both the temporary and permanent stages. Additional applicants aged 18 and over and dependent children attract further amounts. It is not refunded if the application is refused.

Processing times for the subclass 820 and 309 change regularly and are published by the Department of Home Affairs on its visa processing times guide. How long your application takes depends on how complete and consistent your evidence is, character and health checks, and whether the Department requests further information. A well-prepared application avoids the most common causes of delay.

Yes, as de facto partners. You generally need at least 12 months of living together before lodgement, unless your relationship is registered with an Australian state or territory registry, or compelling and compassionate circumstances apply.

The subclass 866 is Australia's onshore permanent protection visa, for people already in Australia who face persecution or a real risk of significant harm on return. The application charge is $50 and one charge covers the whole family unit.

Usually, if you applied onshore while you still held a valid visa. A Bridging Visa A generally carries full work rights once your previous visa expires. Work rights are not automatic on every bridging visa, so check the grant notice rather than assuming.

Two in a lifetime, with at least five years between them. A separate five year wait applies if your sponsor was themselves granted a partner visa. All three limits can be waived where there are compelling circumstances. See Sponsorship Limitations.

You can still lodge a partner visa application, but Schedule 3 criteria will apply and a genuine relationship on its own is not compelling. See Schedule 3 Waivers.

The application can continue and permanent residence can still be granted. Your sponsor cannot cancel your visa, and no police report is required. See Family Violence Provisions.

Merits review. It is independent of the Department, it decides the application again on all the material before it, and it accepts evidence that did not exist when you applied. An adverse finding by a delegate does not bind it.

An application to a court asking whether a decision was lawfully made, not whether it was right on the facts. It runs on a 35 day limit under section 477 of the Migration Act. See Judicial Review.

Subclass 482, which replaced the Temporary Skill Shortage visa on 7 December 2024. It operates through three streams: Core Skills, Specialist Skills and Labour Agreement. See Corporate Migration.

Yes. Australian migration law makes no distinction based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Same criteria, same charges, no separate visa. See Same Sex and LGBTIQ+ Partner Visa.

Yes. Migration is federal law and identical in every state. Consultations are held by Zoom, documents are signed electronically, and our office is staffed 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday for anyone who prefers to call.

We arrange interpreters for our own conferences. Where a Department interview or a Tribunal hearing is involved, we notify them of your language and dialect in advance rather than raising it on the day.

Yes, at the consultation. If we do not think an application is likely to succeed we say so rather than taking the file, and we explain what would need to change for that answer to be different.

Call us or book a consultation. Reception takes your basic details and runs a conflict check, then a lawyer goes through your situation with you and tells you what is available.