Optional Evidencing Regime - Phased elimination of labels as main form of documentary evidence of visas
1 July 2005 - Legislation change
Client summary
On 1 July 2005, a flexible legal platform will be introduced by the Migration Regulations 1994 to facilitate the elimination of labels as the standard means of evidencing visas.
The main feature of the legal platform is a new optional evidencing regime for most visas.
Under the regime, policy areas will be able to decide when their visas are ready to go label free, which will then allow decision-makers to grant those visas with or without a label.
Technical details
To support the new evidencing regime, the following legislative changes have been made:
Time-of-decision Passport Requirement
As of 1 July 2005, most applicants for non-humanitarian visa subclasses will be required to hold a valid passport prior to grant. The new criterion will enable the Department to continue to collect visa holders' passport details, even where the visa will not be evidenced by a label in a passport. The requirement will be able to be waived in exceptional circumstances, such as emergency situations.
Humanitarian and most bridging visas will not have the new passport requirement.
Optional Evidencing Provision
Optional evidencing provisions have been inserted into Schedule 2 of the Regulations for most visa subclasses. The new evidencing provisions are flexible and will allow visa labels to continue to be used where necessary. When used, the visa labels may be affixed to a valid passport, or valid Convention travel document, or an approved form, as prescribed.
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Optional Re-evidencing Provision
Optional re-evidencing provisions have been inserted into regulation 2.17 to allow for the discretionary re-evidencing of a visa grant where the passport, document, or previous evidence cannot be used for travel purposes
Immigration Clearance Provisions
Amendments to immigration clearance provisions in regulation 3.03 and in Part 1 of Schedule 9 to the Regulations make the showing of documentary evidence of a visa in immigration clearance the exception rather than the rule. From 1 July 2005, most non-citizens will only need to show a valid passport and hand in a completed passenger card to be immigration cleared. The person's visa details will be able to be verified via the passport. Documentary evidence of a visa will only required to be shown where a visa has been evidenced by a label and the clearance officer asks to see it.
Changes to relevant systems and associated documentation have been made for 1 July 2005 (see below).
Additional information: Nil
Transitional arrangements: The new provisions apply in relation to:
- an application for a visa made on or after 1 July 2005; and
- a non-citizen in immigration clearance on or after 1 July 2005; and
- re-evidencing a visa on or after 1 July 2005.
Forms: Most paper application forms were changed for 1 November 2004 to include the visa grant number as an additional means to identify previous visas held by applicant, and to change declarations signed by applicants and other relevant paragraphs to be suitable for both label and label-free visas.
Instructions: Relevant policy guidelines (MSIs) have been updated to reflect the new optional evidencing regime, and general policy instructions will also be circulated separately.
Effect on delegations: Nil.
Effect on systems:
- From 1 July 2005, ICSE and IRIS will both allow for the optional, or discretionary, evidencing of visas.
- A new travel document window will be introduced into ICSE to collect clients' passport details prior to grant.
- All ICSE created grant notification letters have been updated to advise visa holders of the visa grant number and its significance as a client identifier for dealings with the Department, of the requirement to advise the Department of any changes to their passport details after grant, and of the ability for certain third parties to check a visa holder's entitlements through the Entitlement Verification Online (EVO) system.
- State and Territory Offices and overseas posts have been asked to include the information in the previous dot-point in their locally produced grant notification letter templates.
- eVisa online information pages have been amended, including a recommendation that a passport used for a visa application be valid for at least six months.
- Ongoing updates to the DIMIA website to reflect the optional evidencing regime.
- Amendments to Settlement and ARMS databases to use the visa grant number as additional client identifier.