Visa to Australia on compassionate grounds

[AlmostAway]

Posting here for traffic in hope of ideas.

My SIL, DH sister, was diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer about four months ago. She has been given just three to six months. It's all very sad. However, DH is beside himself because she lives in Australia. He is an Irish passport holder, but has been asked to pay AU$24k for the tourist visa.

Does anyone have any idea how he might be able to visit her on compassionate grounds? I have checked other visa types to no avail.

Thanks in advance

OP can you link some of the the stories that 'litter' the internet where people say this happened to them.

Cant help wonder how much you know as fact and how much is what dh has told you.

Contact Australian embassy in Dublin

(01) 664 5300

I can only think of three possible scenarios.

1. This is a fake website
2. There is something in his past he hasn't disclosed

And at an outside pinch

1. The Oz government have confused his identity/identity theft issues.

He will need a visa to visit.
He needs to take some of advice of talking to embassies on here. Or pay a decent immigration lawyer but that isn't cheap.

Doesn't make sense. Who in the right mind would pay 24k for a visa?

To answer your ‘what else can I do’
Literally nothing other than him be honest about whatever it really said..

AlmostAway Mon 18-Nov-19 18:40:51
Thank you for all the information on ETAs etc
I wanted a DIFFERENT solution so he can travel to visit his sister if anyone knows one.

I get that you want a DIFFERENT solution but you've been offered all the legal options, so your other half needs to either start greasing up for the long swim from Papua New Guinea or start being honest with you.....

I'd google his name to check if he shares it with a criminal, try to figure out why this has happened. I'd also try fresh from a different computer in case of fraud.

Good luck

Irish here living in Australia. Parents/siblings come out very often. Absolutely no way is a visa 24k!!! It’s not even that much for a 10 year one. This is the website. Don’t use any other one and it’s so easy, fill the forms in yourself.

immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing

He can apply for a visitor visa which is valid for 3 months. Both sets of parents and siblings have had this multiple times and costs next to nothing. This is the most standard visa.

Visitor(subclass 600) can be given for up to 12 months when visiting a family member. My Mom has had this twice and is here on this one now. It cost between $200-300. Was approved within 48 hours. My Mom was able to get this for the birth of my DC staying 12 months so am sure his sister being sick would be a valid reason.

I know the shock news will of course have you panicking but make sure you go through the correct websites.

The only way it could be 24k is if he was previously in Australia and racked up a load of debt worth 24k and left without paying. Then yes he does have to pay that back before re-entering.

Good luck.

Hi op in my line of work I regularly come across people who have been scammed paying money for visas on fake websites. I know you have checked but it does happen to a lot of people. Also if your dh is Irish then contact the embassy in Dublin.

There isn’t even a 24k option listed

Has he been here before?
Maybe he has an unpaid fine, medical bill (which he wouldn't have actually as they're covered by British passport, so won't be medical) or unpaid taxes?

If it wasn't a scam or his utter confusion, then it'll be either an unpaid fine or unpaid taxes. Ask him. Though when the visa would have declined, it does give a reason.

There's a guy called Sammi Naghi in London who is a friend, he's Australian and is an immigration lawyer. He specialises in getting visas for people with criminal history. Pretty sure his company is called migrating specialists. Give them a google and try him, sure he'll give some free initial advice for your partner.

Why don't you try and fill in his application on the immi website yourself and see why it's being declined pending payment. As usually when the gov want overdue payments, they won't decline at visa stage, they usually let it go through and then grab you at the airport upon arrival.

Anywy sorry to hear about your sister in law. Where in oz is she? X

One thing I can recall is a case of mistaken identity- they thought an applicant had a criminal record, a quick call and check and they realised the error and issued the visa. I’m not quite sure from your posts if he has contacted the Embassy, but if he hasn’t he definitely should. Otherwise I am completely confused tbh, and I used to deal with this for a living!

The only other possibility is that they meet in a neighbouring country if her health can manage it - NZ or Singapore?

I don't know where your DH has got his info from but this website says the ETA visa from Ireland to Australia is €20 or free if flights are booked with them:
www.usit.ie/work-abroad/eta-holiday-visa-for-australia

Your DH is lying to you

Wow the world must be full of rich gap year people if it costs 24k for a visa!
Surely nobody would believe that's true?

How perplexing.

Who processed the application?

You or him?

The internet is littered with similar tales of people who haven't been issued a ETA and have flights booked

But not a single one being charged thousands of pounds 🧐

My DS1 has just this week had his visa through for Australia.. a partner one so he can marry his aussie fiancee and live there until he has to apply for a permanent one (or come back)

He DOES have a criminal conviction... for drink driving as a stupid teen (and yes he learned his lesson) and even with that, the medicals, evidence to support his relationship as genuine etc etc the visa cost just under 4k. I paid for a visa specialist to help us to prepare the paperwork and make sure everything was done correctly but that was stil only an extra 1.2k not 24.

I would check that it isn't mistaken identity...it does happen. If it's not then there is a reason he is not being granted a standard one. Has he been to Australia before?

You can't get in without a visa. The visa does not cost $24k. There are 2 possibilities here:

1. Some totally innocent and extremely coincidental case of mistaken identity for someone who has convictions or owes the Australian Government money.

1. Your DH is lying about something.

The immigration office surely discloses why the standard visa is being denied without this huge fee? Have you actually seen his paperwork?

I can't understand someone seriously entertaining that a visa might cost £24,000!

maybe he's planning on leaving and needs money to set up a new life

I doubt it'll be mistaken identity as they require passport details, our visas here now attach to passports to minimise the risk of mistaken identity. All previous passports are then linked, so they'll be able to ascertain from that if he has a government debt with our government.

No other debts will be chased via a visa as they're private debts therefore a civil matter.

So he either owes money to our government (unpaid taxes or fines from a previous trip), or he/you have made a mistake. Like I previously said, if someone owes money to the government, their visa is usually granted regardless and border staff would usually pull you aside upon arrival to pay any unpaid government debts. If he didn't have the means to there and then, they'd probably deny entry at the airport.

Please give my friend Sammi a call (as per Prev post), he really is a renowned AUS immigration lawyer and would help more than us bunch of strangers on here. Otherwise, try and apply yourself on behalf of him online (god sake don't pay $20 or whatever these scamming travel agents charge now days) and see if he just made an error in his application/was on a fraudulent site or something else. You never know, you may try it yourself on the immi site and get an instant grant?

There's no visa that costs that much, not even residency visas. Either it's a scam, mistaken identity or he has previous debts

Another Australian here....24,000 for a tourist visa that allows for a 90 day visit? I don't think so!!! Never heard of anything so dodgy.

He is either lying, has connected to a fake site or something very strange is happening. Has he applied to get a residency visa and a immigration lawyer is quoting that much for fees or something? Does he want to stay to work?

You wanted a different solution to what PP's are suggesting? Not sure that you really want anyone to swim from PNG, the crocs are pretty aggressive, and so are the sharks as someone else suggested. Plus they would need to be a bush tucker specialist til they struck any civilisation. Mind you, the mozzies can be big enough to carry a person sometimes. Particularly, the scotch greys! Alternatives? Submarine?

But ...... unpaid tax bill if he worked in Australia at any time? Or someone with his name.

I suspect that the OP won't be back given that we have all been unable to help her think of ways of entering Australia without a visa and she didn't like the idea of asking her MP for help. I hope she finds out what on earth is going on with her DH.