irishgirl

Hi everyone

I have just found this forum and it seems to be a wealth of information.I was wondering if anyone could help me,my family moved to Australia when I was 4 years old and we returned home when i was 9.We had resident visas at the time which meant we could come back to Ireland but as long as we went back to Australia within 3 years our visas were still valid.My sister was born in this time space and when we went to get her included on my mothers passport at the Australian Consulate(in Ireland) the person who dealt with it cancelled our residents re-entry visa(that had to be used in 3 years)and replaced it with a one time only re entry visa that had to be used within 3 months or we lost our visas..which unfortunately we did.

So my questions are,has anyone ever heard of this happening before?And has anyone heard of or experienced the reinstatement of such visas on the grounds that the original 3 year re-entry visa shouldnt have been cancelled in the first place?My brother is an Australian citizen(he was born there)and I would love the oppurtunity to be able to go and live there with him.

Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

moneypenny20

Think you need professional help - ie an experienced agent You may be better off posting this on the immigration forum. Some agents post there and may be able to help.

sunshine23

Hi

I don't want to be the barer of bad news but I to lost my permanent residency. To get it back there is a certain criteria. You have to have lived in Australia for 9 years before your 18 birthday and you have to be able to prove this (believe me it is difficult), you also have to prove you still have family ties in Australia and that you still keep in contact with them. I would suggest you get in contact with an agent they may be able to help you.

Good Luck

JAJ

Interestingly, something like this *has* happened before. This MRT case may be of interest:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/c...2003/1915.html

If you want to try to get your permanent residence back you need a very good agent who is familiar with review processes (and preferably is also a lawyer). Not many agents will be able to handle a case like this, one you could try is Peter Bollard in Sydney.
http://users.bigpond.net.au/onk/

Don't get your hopes up too high as much will depend on the exact circumstances of the 'cancellation' of your old visas. You'll need to go through the details of the case with someone like Peter to see if there's any hope.

An online forum won't help and it's definitely not going to be a "do-it-yourself" exercise.




Jeremy

sunshine23

Jeremy,

Are you saying that it is very rare to get a former resident visa back or a visa that has been cancelled ?

JAJ

Not necessarily.

What happened in the case that I mentioned was that the persons old-style Authority to Return was illegally cancelled in 1989 and replaced with an RRV that had much stricter rules, and which the person was unable to use. The MRT took the view that this was (at least part of) the basis for a 'compelling' reason to grant a new RRV now.

Realistically if your permanent residence expired many years ago it's very hard to get an RRV, unless there are some exceptional circumstances. An illegal cancellation of an old visa (the old style ATRs allowed you to keep PR indefinitely as long as you visited every three years) might lead to such exceptional circumstances.

Former resident is a different visa, to provide an immigration alternative for some former PRs who don't qualify for an RRV. Most former PRs don't qualify for former resident as the rules are so strict.

But why people put themselves through all this difficulty as opposed to just taking Australian citizenship as soon as possible is something I don't understand.

Jeremy

irishgirl

Hi Folks

First of all a very big thank you for your replies!I was absolutely delighted to see such a response so quickly!That information you posted Jeremy made very interesting reading and many thanks for taking the time and effort to post this for me.I definitely think we might have some sort of a case to pursue here.I agree with you that its not a"do it yourself" sort of thing and legal help would be required in this matter,can I just ask about the link you supplied,is this someone you have heard has had success in such matters?And should we approach him rather than someone closer to home?

I would also love to hear from anyone who has gone through any sort of legal proceedings to get their old residents visas back.

And,Jeremy...My parents have been kicking themselves for a very long time that they didnt get their citizenship sorted at the time and I in return have been kicking them..hehe

Thanks again!

sunshine23

I kick myself everyday now because I did not get made a citizen before I left Australia. Looking at the criteria for former resident I do qualify, I just hope they let me have it back. We have been gathering evidence for the last 12 months. I know it is not easy but I am keeping my fingers crossed.
As you say why I have put myself through this I will never know

Sunshine23

JAJ

Use an Australian lawyer. You're unlikely to find the necessary expertise in the UK. Peter Bollard has a good reputation (as I understand it), but obviously you'll need to pay him for his advice/assistance.

Also discuss what other combinations of visas you and your parents may qualify for, eg skilled sponsored, contributory parent and remaining relative, it will all depend on your circumstances.

If you're looking for legal pointers that won't help much because every case in this area is so different.

Jeremy