The Safe Haven Enterprise Visa (Class XE) (Subclass 790) [hereinafter referred to as “SHEV”] is a protection visa for persons who arrived in Australia illegally. With this visa, you may be allowed to temporarily stay in Australia for up to 5 years.
It may interest you to know that there are primarily three protection visas provided by the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and corresponding Regulations, namely, Permanent Protection Visa (Class XA) (Subclass 866), Temporary Protection Visa (Class XD) (Subclass 785) and the SHEV.
General Eligibility for Protection Visas
You must:
- be in Australia; and
- be a refugee; or
- engage in Australia’s protection obligations; and
- meet all other requirements for the visa.
You may wonder who a refugee is! Well, as per Section 5H(1) of the Migration Act a refugee is defined as:
“(a) in a case where the person has a nationality – is outside the country of his or her nationality and, owing to a well-founded fear of persecution, is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country; or
(b) in a case where the person does not have a nationality – is outside the country of his or her former habitual residence and owing to a well-founded fear of persecution, is unable or unwilling to return to it.”
Thus, in order to be called a refugee, you must have a well-founded fear of persecution and serious harm because of your race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion because of which you do not want to return to your home country.
Other Requirements for SHEV Application
You must:
- be ineligible to apply for a Permanent Protection visa (Subclass 866)
- meet identity requirements
- meet health and character requirements
- meet security requirements, and
- sign a declaration that you intend to work or study in regional Australia
Bar for 790 Visa Application
You will not be eligible to make a valid SHEV application if you:
- are an unauthorised maritime arrival, or
- have been refused immigration clearance after your arrival to Australia, or
- have had protection visa refused or cancelled since your last arrival to Australia, or
- hold nationality of 2 or more countries, or
- have protection in a prescribed safe third country,
- hold or have held a Humanitarian Stay (Temporary) Visa (Subclass 449) since your last arrival to Australia and are not an unauthorised maritime arrival or a transitory person.
However, please know that the Minister is empowered to make decisions on the application and accordingly, may lift any application bar if the Minister determines it to be in the public interest.
Advantages of Subclass 790 visa
- Stay in Australia for upto 5 years
- Work in Australia
- Study in Australia
- Have access to government services such as Medicare and Centrelink
Visa Fees
Visa application charge for an applicant who is in immigration detention and has not been immigration cleared is Nil. However, for secondary applicants who are members of the family unit of the main applicant, the visa application charge is AUD $40.
If you facing any migration related problems, Get In Touch with us or call us on (02) 46261002 to speak to one of our Registered Migration Agents who can help you in your situation.
