5/3/14
Amendments to the Migration Regulations 1994 (the Regulations), which will take effect from 22 March 2014, seek to prevent identity fraud in Australia’s visa and citizenship programs, by expanding the application of Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4020 – so that a relevant visa is not granted unless the Minister is satisfied of the identity of the visa applicant.
The proposed changes will amend PIC 4020 to introduce a specific identity requirement into the grant of a visa. The features of the proposed identity requirement are:
- a visa must not be granted unless the Minister is satisfied of the identity of the person; and
- a decision to refuse to grant a visa where the Minister is not satisfied as to the identity of an applicant would not be subject to waiver; and
- a ten year exclusion period for grant of another visa would apply where an applicant is refused a visa under PIC4020 on identity grounds.