Refugee and Humanitarian (Class XB) visas allow a person to move to Australia if you are subject to persecution or substantial discrimination amounting to gross violation of human rights in your home country. With this visa, you may be allowed to stay permanently in Australia. Further, there are primarily four visas under this Class provided by the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and the corresponding Regulations, namely, Refugee visa (Subclass 200), In-country Special Humanitarian visa (Subclass 201), Emergency Rescue (Subclass 203), and Woman at Risk (Subclass 204).
General Eligibility for Refugee and Humanitarian Visas
You must:
- be outside Australia; and
- face persecution in your home country; and
- meet the health and character requirements.
Clause 200.211(1)(a) of the Migration Regulations 1994 provides that the criteria to be satisfied by the main applicant is that the at time of application the applicant “is subject to persecution in the applicant’s home country and is living in a country other than the applicant’s home country”. For this purpose, home country is defined as:
“home country, in relation to a person, means:
(a) the country of which the person is a citizen; or
(b) if the person is not usually resident in that country, the country of which the person is usually a resident.”
This visa is usually processed on priority basis and granted to persons who are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for resettlement in Australia, assessed as refugees and subsequently referred to the Department for grant of a visa. Please know, there is no visa application charge for this visa.
Advantages of Refugee and Humanitarian Visas
- Stay in Australia permanently
- Study in Australia
- Work in Australia
- Enrol in Medicare
- Travel to and from Australia for 5 years
- Bring dependent family members to Australia
- Pathway to citizenship, if eligible
- Attend English language classes for free, up to a certain hours
If you facing any migration related problems or need assistance in preparing the submission to the AAT in your case, Get In Touch with us or call us on (02) 4626 100 to speak to one of our Registered Migration Agents who can help you.
