Migration Services

Australian citizenship may be obtained by birth, by descent, by adoption, or by conferral (naturalisation). You may also ‘renew’ your Australian citizenship in certain circumstances.

The most common way of becoming an Australian citizen is by descent or conferral (naturalisation), if you were not an Australian citizen by birth. If you apply to become an Australian citizen through the above two routes, you need to meet very strict screening conditions, including residency requirements and character tests.

We also help clients prepare for citizenship knowledge tests, and can assist with applications for Australian passports.

Through our extended teams, BT Lawyers has a long history of providing educational and student services to overseas or international students.

We help students find suitable courses and education providers (schools/colleges/universities). We can assist both international students and their guardians with student visa applications as well as student guardian visa applications. We provide airport pick-up, homestay and other settlement services. We recommend and help purchase OSHC/OVC for students and/or their guardians.

Through experienced education agents, we also provide advice on course transfers, educational provider transfers, absence explanations and (schools/colleges/universities) hearings.

“Sponsorship” in the Australian visa system has its own unique meaning. Many different visas require government or employer or family relative’s sponsorship to meet the approval requirements. In certain circumstances, the term “sponsorship” can be considered equivalent to “nomination”, however commonly, people mix the use of these two terms, even though they carry different definitions in Australian migration law.

Sponsorship/Nomination can exist in the following categories of visas: all family visas, all business visas, certain skilled/work visas, all regional visas and certain temporary activity visas for example. The most common visa types are: partner (spouse) visas, parent visas, business innovative visas, investor visas, State/Territory nominated visas, employer nominated visas, regional sponsored visas & sponsored family visitor visa for example.

Some visas require a pre-approval of sponsorship or nomination before the visa application can be lodged to the Department of Immigration. Some sponsorships are subject to limitation, and can only be waived in very limited circumstances, the most common being ‘compassionate grounds’ or ‘compelling reasons’.

People may confuse “assurance” with “sponsorship”. They are of course different. In the visa system, people who provide “Assurance of Support – AoS” may not always be the same person who “sponsors” a visa application.

We assist clients with Australian visa applications, including but are not limited to:

• Family visas: Partner visas (spouse visas), Parent visas, Child visas, Last Remaining Relative visas & Carer visas

• Business visas: Business Innovative visas, Investor and Significant Investor visas, Investor Retirement visa & Entrepreneur visa (currently closed to new application)

• Skilled visas: Skilled Independent visas, State/Territory Nominated visas, Regional Sponsored visas, Temporary Work visas & National Innovation visa

• Student/Graduate/Training visas: Student visa, Temporary Graduate visa, Training visa & Student Guardian visa.

• Other Temporary Residence visas: Visitor visas, Working Holiday visas, Medical Treatment visas & Temporary Activity visas.

• Humanitarian visas: Refugee visas, Onshore Protection visas including Safe Haven Enterprise visa.

• Resident Return visas and Citizenship services, including Australian passport applications.

Please visit our associated website: www.btmigration.com for more details.

If, after a long waiting period, you are unfortunate enough to receive a visa cancellation letter or refusal letter from the Department of Home Affairs, the BT Lawyers team can help should you decide to challenge their decision.

We help clients analyse and understand the Department of Home Affairs’ reasons for visa cancellation and refusal decisions, and find ways to raise a subsequent appeal at the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). Our lawyers and migration agents have extensive experience in the appeals process, including pre-trial counselling, hearing defence, how to make submissions, and appearing at hearings.

In some cases of visa refusals, it is possible to request a review directly from the Department of Immigration by submitting a request for ‘Ministerial Intervention’. We can assist clients to provide supplementary documents or explanations, in the “Invitation to comment on adverse information” stage, before a final decision is made by the Department of Home Affairs regarding visa cancellation or refusal.

If you receive a “Natural justice letter” from the Department of Home Affairs, the BT Lawyers team is able to help you respond with a professionally-written letter, together with supporting evidence to the Department of Home Affairs.