The visa processing in Australia is handled by various
bodies and government entities. The Migration Review
Tribunal is one such body which primarily deals with all
reviews connected with visa applications. In a sense the
term ‘review’ is a misnomer because the tribunal looks at
the cases put up to it afresh without any reference to the
original judgement and cause of rejection. Since the review
is merit based, it is also called a merit tribunal.
The process of merit review consists of a personal interview
with the applicant and other connected parties. It is
important for the visa applicants to forcefully put forward
their point of view and produce relevant documents in
support of their case when appearing before the reviewing
authority. The merit tribunal comes under the ambit of the
same laws which govern the initial visa issuing authority.
The Migration Review Tribunal deals with all cases where
visas have been rejected, cancelled while the applicant is
residing in Australia and with cases related to business
visas. It doesn’t have jurisdiction over Protection visas
which are dealt with by the Refugee Review Tribunal.
The Migration Review Tribunal considers the documents
produced by the applicant on merit and also provides an
opportunity to them to personally present their case, if
required. Depending on the merits of the case, the merit
tribunal may accept or reject the application. It is not
mandatory for the tribunal to give a personal hearing. Their
decision can be based purely on the basis of the documents
produced by the applicant.
It is important to note that even though the merits tribunal
may uphold the case of an applicant, it does not have the
authority to grant visas. The pertinent files are returned
to the visa granting authority with the noting by the
tribunal. The logic behind this process lies in the fact
that the tribunal only considers issues which have led to
rejection of the visa whereas the applicants have to satisfy
other criteria before the visa is issued to them. In effect,
the tribunal indicates to the visa granting authority that
the normal process of issuance must be continued to its
logical conclusion.
Applicants must note that review petitions are time bound.
To avoid disqualification one must ensure that the
application for review is made as soon as possible. There is
no provision to extend the time limit.
The Migration Review Tribunal works independently and is not
bound by the normal legal procedures. It has been set up to
specifically deal with visa applications and its charter
requires a quick and fair disposal of cases based on merit.
The Tribunal can therefore take decisions without recourse
to the legal formalities and provisions. In fact, the
Migration Review Tribunal of Australia is a unique
instrument created to make visa processing simple and fair
to all parties concerned. Though it does not function like a
regular court, applicants are free to use the services of a
professional to represent them in front of the tribunal.
