Visa cancelled due to incorrect information given or provided to the Department of Home Affairs

It is a requirement that a visa applicant must fill in or complete his or her application form in a manner that all questions are answered, and no incorrect answers are given or provided.

There is also a requirement that visa applicants must not provide incorrect information during interviews with the Minister for Immigration (‘Minister’), an officer, an authorised person, the Tribunal or the Immigration Assessment Authority.

Pursuant to section 109 of the Migration Act 1958 (‘the Act’), the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs has the power to cancel a visa if incorrect information has been provided to the Department of Home Affairs.

In 1703474 (Refugee) [2017] AATA 2985, it was explored that section 109 of the Act requires non-citizens:

• to provide correct information in visa applications and passenger cards;
• not to provide bogus documents;
• to notify the Department of any incorrect information of which the applicant become aware; and
• to notify the Department of any relevant changes in circumstances.

The Minister may also cancel a visa if the person who provided the incorrect answer did not know that the information was incorrect as detailed in section 100 of the Act.

This concept in section 100 of the Act was further analysed in Sanaee (Migration) [2019] AATA 4506 where it was stated “For the purposes of this Subdivision, an answer to a question is incorrect even though the person who gave or provided the answer, or caused the answer to be given or provided, did not know that it was incorrect.”

Regardless of the type of information, your visa can be cancelled if there are evidence that the information that you have given to the Department was incorrect.

If the Department is to cancel your visa, the Department of Home Affairs will issue a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation (NOICC) of your visa. This is an opportunity for you to respond to the NOICC. However, there are strict time limits to respond and provide evidence and submissions on why your visa should not be cancelled. This is why it is very important to seek legal advice from migration experts immediately.

What should you do next?

If you received a NOICC of your visa from the Department of Home Affairs, contact our team of Registered Migration Agents to discuss your migration matter.