Migration Act 1958
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 25 — Copies of documents
(1) The Minister may inspect a document or copy produced under this Division and may make and retain copies of, or take and retain extracts from, such a document or copy. (2) The Minister may retain…
Section 26 — Minister may retain documents
(1) The Minister may, for the purposes of this Act, take, and retain for as long as is necessary for those purposes, possession of a document produced under this Division. (2) The person otherwise…
Section 27 — Division binds the Crown
(1) This Division binds the Crown in right of the Commonwealth, of each of the States, of the Australian Capital Territory and of the Northern Territory. (2) Nothing in this Division permits the…
Section 28 — Interpretation
In this Division: specified period includes the period until a specified date.
Section 29 — Visas
(1) Subject to this Act, the Minister may grant a non-citizen permission, to be known as a visa, to do either or both of the following: (a) travel to and enter Australia; (b) remain in Australia.…
Section 30 — Kinds of visas
(1) A visa to remain in Australia (whether also a visa to travel to and enter Australia) may be a visa, to be known as a permanent visa, to remain indefinitely. (2) A visa to remain in Australia…
Section 31 — Classes of visas
(1) There are to be prescribed classes of visas. Note: See also subsection 35A(4), which allows additional classes of permanent and temporary visas to be prescribed as protection visas by regulations…
Section 32 — Special category visas
(1) There is a class of temporary visas to be known as special category visas. (2) A criterion for a special category visa is that the Minister is satisfied the applicant is: (a) a non-citizen: (i)…
Section 33 — Special purpose visas
(1) There is a class of temporary visas to travel to, enter and remain in Australia, to be known as special purpose visas. (2) Subject to subsection (3), a non-citizen is taken to have been granted a…
Section 34 — Absorbed person visas
(1) There is a class of permanent visas to remain in, but not re-enter, Australia, to be known as absorbed person visas. (2) A non-citizen in the migration zone who: (a) on 2 April 1984 was in…
Section 35 — Ex-citizen visas
(1) There is a class of permanent visas to remain in, but not re-enter, Australia, to be known as ex-citizen visas. (2) A person who: (a) before 1 September 1994, ceased to be an Australian citizen…
Section 35A — Protection visas—classes of visas
(1) A protection visa is a visa of a class provided for by this section. (2) There is a class of permanent visas to be known as permanent protection visas. Note: These visas were classified by the…
Section 36 — Protection visas—criteria provided for by this Act
(1A) An applicant for a protection visa must satisfy: (a) both of the criteria in subsections (1B) and (1C); and (b) at least one of the criteria in subsection (2). (1B) A criterion for a protection…
Section 36A — Consideration of protection obligations
(1) In considering a valid application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen, the Minister must consider and make a record of whether the Minister is satisfied of any of the following: (a) the…
Section 37 — Bridging visas
There are classes of temporary visas, to be known as bridging visas, to be granted under Subdivision AF.
Section 37A — Temporary safe haven visas
(1) There is a class of temporary visas to travel to, enter and remain in Australia, to be known as temporary safe haven visas. Note: A temporary safe haven visa is granted to a person to give the…
Section 38 — Criminal justice visas
There is a class of temporary visas, to be known as criminal justice visas, to be granted under Subdivision D of Division 4.
Section 38A — Enforcement visas
There is a class of temporary visas to travel to, enter and remain in Australia, to be known as enforcement visas. Note: Division 4A deals with these visas.
Section 38B — Maritime crew visas
(1) There is a class of temporary visas to travel to and enter Australia by sea, and to remain in Australia, to be known as maritime crew visas. (2) Subject to subsection 43(1B), a maritime crew visa…
Section 39 — Criterion limiting number of visas
(1) In spite of section 14 of the Legislation Act 2003, a prescribed criterion for visas of a class, other than protection visas, may be the criterion that the grant of the visa would not cause the…
Section 39A — Minimum annual numbers of Protection (Class XA) visas and Refugee and Humanitarian (Class XB) visas
(1) Despite any legislative instrument made for the purposes of section 39, the Minister must take all reasonably practicable measures to ensure the grant in a financial year of at least the minimum…
Section 40 — Circumstances for granting visas
(1) The regulations may provide that visas or visas of a specified class may only be granted in specified circumstances. (2) Without limiting subsection (1), the circumstances may be, or may include,…
Section 41 — Conditions on visas
(1) The regulations may provide that visas, or visas of a specified class, are subject to specified conditions. General rules about conditions (2) Without limiting subsection (1), the regulations may…
Section 42 — Visa essential for travel
(1) Subject to subsections (2), (2A) and (3), a non-citizen must not travel to Australia without a visa that is in effect. Note: A maritime crew visa is generally permission to travel to Australia…
Section 43 — Visa holders must usually enter at a port
(1) Subject to subsections (1A) and (3) and the regulations, a visa to travel to and enter Australia that is in effect is permission for the holder to enter Australia: (a) at a port; or (b) on a…
Section 44 — Extent of following Subdivisions
(1) This Subdivision and the later Subdivisions of this Division, other than this section, Subdivision AG and subsection 138(1), do not apply to criminal justice visas. (2) This Subdivision and the…
Section 45 — Application for visa
(1) Subject to this Act and the regulations, a non-citizen who wants a visa must apply for a visa of a particular class.
Section 45A — Visa application charge
A non-citizen who makes an application for a visa is liable to pay visa application charge if, assuming the charge were paid, the application would be a valid visa application.
Section 45AA — Application for one visa taken to be an application for a different visa
Situation in which conversion regulation can be made (1) This section applies if: (a) a person has made a valid application (a pre-conversion application) for a visa (a pre-conversion visa) of a…
Section 45B — Amount of visa application charge
(1) The amount of visa application charge is the amount, not exceeding the visa application charge limit, prescribed in relation to the application. Note: The visa application charge limit is…
Section 45C — Regulations about visa application charge
(1) The regulations may: (a) provide that visa application charge may be payable in instalments; and (b) specify how those instalments are to be calculated; and (c) specify when instalments are…
Section 46 — Valid visa application
Validity—general (1) Subject to subsections (1A), (2) and (2A), an application for a visa is valid if, and only if: (a) it is for a visa of a class specified in the application; and (b) it satisfies…
Section 46A — Visa applications by unauthorised maritime arrivals
(1) An application for a visa is not a valid application if it is made by an unauthorised maritime arrival who: (a) is in Australia; and (b) either: (i) is an unlawful non-citizen; or (ii) holds a…
Section 46AA — Visa applications, and the grant of visas, for some Act-based visas
Visa classes covered by this section (1) The following classes of visas are covered by this section: (a) special category visas (see section 32); (b) permanent protection visas (see subsection…
Section 46B — Visa applications by transitory persons
(1) An application for a visa is not a valid application if it is made by a transitory person who: (a) is in Australia; and (b) either: (i) is an unlawful non-citizen; or (ii) holds a bridging visa…
Section 46C — Visa pre-application process
(1) The Minister may arrange for a visa pre-application process to be conducted in relation to one or more visas if regulations are in force prescribing criteria mentioned in subsection 46(4A) for…
Section 47 — Consideration of valid visa application
(1) The Minister is to consider a valid application for a visa. (2) The requirement to consider an application for a visa continues until: (a) the application is withdrawn; or (b) the Minister grants…
Section 48 — Non-citizen refused a visa or whose visa cancelled may only apply for particular visas
(1) A non-citizen in the migration zone who: (a) does not hold a substantive visa; and (b) after last entering Australia: (i) was refused a visa, other than a refusal of a bridging visa or a refusal…
Section 48A — No further applications for protection visa after refusal or cancellation
(1) Subject to section 48B, a non-citizen who, while in the migration zone, has made: (a) an application for a protection visa, where the grant of the visa has been refused (whether or not the…
Section 48B — Minister may determine that section 48A does not apply to non-citizen
(1) If the Minister thinks that it is in the public interest to do so, the Minister may, by written notice given to a particular non-citizen, determine that section 48A does not apply to prevent an…
Section 49 — Withdrawal of visa application
(1) An applicant for a visa may, by written notice given to the Minister, withdraw the application. (2) An application that is withdrawn is taken to have been disposed of. (3) For the purposes of…
Section 50 — Only new information to be considered in later protection visa applications
If a non-citizen who has made: (a) an application for a protection visa, where the grant of the visa has been refused and the application has been finally determined; or (b) applications for…
Section 51 — Order of consideration
(1) The Minister may consider and dispose of applications for visas in such order as he or she considers appropriate. (2) The fact that an application has not yet been considered or disposed of…
Section 51A — Exhaustive statement of natural justice hearing rule
(1) This Subdivision is taken to be an exhaustive statement of the requirements of the natural justice hearing rule in relation to the matters it deals with. (2) Sections 494A to 494D, in so far as…
Section 52 — Communication with Minister
(1) A visa applicant or interested person must communicate with the Minister in the prescribed way. (2) The regulations may prescribe different ways of communicating and specify the circumstances…
Section 54 — Minister must have regard to all information in application
(1) The Minister must, in deciding whether to grant or refuse to grant a visa, have regard to all of the information in the application. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), information is in an…
Section 55 — Further information may be given
(1) Until the Minister has made a decision whether to grant or refuse to grant a visa, the applicant may give the Minister any additional relevant information and the Minister must have regard to…
Section 56 — Further information may be sought
(1) In considering an application for a visa, the Minister may, if he or she wants to, get any information that he or she considers relevant but, if the Minister gets such information, the Minister…
Section 57 — Certain information must be given to applicant
(1) In this section, relevant information means information (other than non-disclosable information) that the Minister considers: (a) would be the reason, or part of the reason for refusing to grant…
Section 58 — Invitation to give further information or comments
(1) If a person is: (a) invited under section 56 to give additional information; or (b) invited under section 57 to comment on information; the invitation is to specify whether the additional…