Fact Sheet 52b - Waiving Visa Condition 8503: 'No Further Stay'
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The imposition of condition 8503 on certain visas
This Fact Sheet contains advice about the imposition of condition 8503 - 'No Further Stay'.
What condition 8503 means
If condition 8503 has been imposed on your visa, it means you cannot apply for another visa or ask for your visa to be extended while you are in Australia. Once you depart Australia, condition 8503 will not prevent you from applying for other visas.
What visas is condition 8503 imposed on?
Condition 8503 can be imposed on many Visitor and Temporary Residence visas. If, however, you hold one of the following visas, condition 8503 is mandatory:
- Sponsored Family Visitor visa (subclass 679)
- Tourist visa (subclass 676) granted under the Approved Destination Status scheme operating out of the People's Republic of China
- Sponsored Business Visitor visa (Subclass 459) if the application was made before 1 July 2006
- Professional Development visa (subclass 470)
- Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) if you have previously held two subclass 462 visas.
Information on application forms about the possible imposition of condition 8503
Application forms for relevant Visitor and Temporary Residence visas contain information about condition 8503 and include an acknowledgment that you understand and accept that:
- the condition may be imposed on your visa
- if imposed, you cannot apply for further visas while you are in Australia - this includes not being able to send an application from Australia to an Australian Embassy, High Commission, Consulate or other Australian visa office overseas (or to a Processing Centre in Australia that deals with 'offshore' applications, such as Parent visa).
When you sign your visa application form, therefore, you are acknowledging that this condition might be imposed on your visa. This is also the case if another person, such as a Migration Agent, signed the form on your behalf.
There is no basis to waive condition (see below) if you later say that you did not know it was imposed on your visa or that you did not read and/or sign the application form.
How to check if condition 8503 has been imposed on your visa
If condition 8503 has been imposed on your visa, you will see the code '8503' listed under the conditions on the visa label in your passport. If you don't have a visa label in your passport there will be information in your grant letter advising that condition 8503 has been imposed on your visa.
Why condition 8503 is imposed on some visas
Use of condition 8503 allows the department to grant more visas in those cases where extra surety may be needed that a visa applicant will depart Australia at the end of the period of stay allowed for by the visa.
It has been successful in increasing the number of visas that are granted while reducing the number of people who try to stay in Australia beyond the period allowed for by the visa.
Waiver of condition 8503
Requesting a waiver of condition 8503
It is not possible to request that a mandatory condition 8503 be left off your visa at the time you apply for the visa. However, if you are in Australia holding a visa with condition 8503 imposed on it and your circumstances change, there is provision to waive the condition in limited circumstances that are set out at Regulation 2.05(4) of Australia's migration legislation.
This regulation states:
.. 'the circumstances in which the Minister may waive [condition 8503] are:
(a) since the person was granted the visa that was subject to the condition, compelling and compassionate circumstances have developed:
(i) over which the person had no control; and
(ii) that resulted in a major change to the person's circumstances; and
(b) if the Minister has previously refused to waive the condition, the Minister is satisfied that the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (a) are substantially different from those considered previously; and
(c) if the person asks the Minister to waive the condition, the request is in writing'.
Because this is law, it is not possible for the department to consider waiving the condition for any other reasons.
Therefore, if you do request a waiver of condition 8503, the departmental officer who considers your request must be satisfied that all of the above requirements apply in your case, namely that:
- the circumstances that have developed since you were granted the visa are both compassionate and compelling
- you had no control over these circumstances
- these circumstances have resulted in a major change to your personal circumstances.
Waiver is not automatic - each request is decided by assessing your particular situation against the above legal requirements.
If your visa will soon expire
Requests for waiver of condition 8503 cannot be decided 'on the spot' as they require careful consideration. Therefore if your visa will expire soon after you submit a request for waiver, it may not be possible for the department to make a decision on your request before your visa expires. If your visa expires before the department can decide your request, you will have to apply for a Bridging Visa or depart Australia in order to avoid being unlawfully in Australia.
Lodging a request for waiver of condition 8503 does not automatically mean that you will be lawfully in Australia until the request is decided. It is your responsibility to ensure you have a valid visa for the whole of your stay in Australia.
If your visa has already expired
If the last visa you held since coming to Australia has expired - but condition 8503 was imposed on it - you will not be able to apply for another visa in Australia unless you have requested and been granted a waiver of condition 8503.
There may be other limitations on your ability to apply for another visa in Australia if your last visa has already expired.
What information to include in a request for waiver
As Regulation 2.05(4) quoted above states, you must put your request for waiver in writing. There is no official form that must be used for requesting a waiver; however, any State or Territory office of the department in Australia can provide you with a form that you can use to make a request and that contains information to assist you.
As well as your written reasons for requesting waiver, you should provide the following information and photocopies of documents:
- a photocopy of the personal particulars page of your passport
- a photocopy of your current Australian visa (or, if your visa has expired, your most recent Australian visa)
- a photocopy of the page of your passport showing the Australian entry stamp
- documentary evidence to support your reasons for requesting waiver
Example: Medical evidence.
Providing as much information as you can with your request will help to speed up the assessment process.
Where to send a request for waiver
You can lodge your written request for waiver at any office of the department in Australia. You can find the addresses and contact details for the department's State and Territory offices.
See: Contact Us - Australian Offices
If condition 8503 is waived
If condition 8503 is waived, then you can apply for another visa without having to depart Australia. There is no guarantee that you will be granted another visa as this will depend on whether you satisfy the legal requirements for that visa. In addition, if another visa is granted to you it may also contain condition 8503.
If condition 8503 is not waived
If condition 8503 is not waived, you will not be able to apply for another visa while you are in Australia. When you depart Australia, condition 8503 will cease and will not prevent you from applying for another visa outside Australia.
Decision cannot be reviewed
The decision not to waive condition 8503 is final. It cannot be reviewed by the Migration Review Tribunal nor by another department office. The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship does not have any power to intervene if condition 8503 is not waived.
It is possible to lodge a new request for waiver - but there must be new and substantially different reasons for requesting a waiver from those in your previous application (see (b) of Regulation 2.05(4) quoted above).
Special circumstances that apply to certain visas
If you hold one of the following visas, you must read the information below:
- Sponsored Family Visitor visa holders (Subclass 679)
If you request a waiver of condition 8503 and this results in your staying in Australia after your Sponsored Family Visitor visa expires, you will have breached another condition on your visa - namely condition 8531 'Must leave before visa expiry'. This means that penalties will be imposed on your sponsor, even if condition 8503 is waived and you are granted another visa.
Note: In addition, any security bond lodged in support of that Sponsored Family Visitor visa application may be forfeited. The officer who decides whether or not to waive condition 8503 has no power to decide about condition 8531 or bond refund and cannot give you advice about this. - Work and Holiday visa holders (Subclass 462)
If your Work and Holiday visa contains condition 8503 you cannot request that it be waived and you must depart Australia before your visa expires.
Further information is available on the department's web site.
See: www.immi.gov.au
The department also operates a national telephone service inquiry line.
Telephone: 131 881
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm (recorded information available outside these hours) for the cost of a local call anywhere in Australia.
Fact Sheet 52b. Produced by the National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Canberra.
Revised 17 November 2008.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2008.