A poorly prepared application, or what the Department of Home Affairs call a “naked application”, is one where there is an application form, a fee, and little to no supporting documentation.

After the lodgement of visa application, the decision on your visa application will depend on the complexity of your application. The Department is currently processing a high number of visa applications. Your visa application can take longer if it contains incorrect information or documents are missing. It may even be refused.

The following are some of the issues that cause delays in majority of the visa application:

1. Missing documentation that are necessary for the officer to finalise the application.
2. Character and health assessments usually delay the visa application process to a certain extent as obtaining the overseas police clearances certificates from some of the countries is a long process.
3. Submitting multiple visa applications for the same type of visa.

However, to speed up your visa application, you must have a decision ready visa application. Decision ready visa application means a visa application that is prepared in a way that it is ready for a Case Officer to decide on immediately, without having to request anything extra. A good, sound, and complete application that has been prepared and presented properly processes earlier than other visa applications.

We recommend you do the following steps to speed up the process of your visa application.

1. Please check in detail what documents are required to lodge your visa application. Check either with your migration agent or lawyer, about the required documents which needs to be official, original copy, translated, or requires a witness.
2. Have sufficient time in your hands to collect all the required documents that needs to be lodged with your visa application. Some of the documents take longer than expected such as overseas police clearance from different countries that you have lived in for a certain period.
3. You have to make sure that all the documents have correct details such as the names are correct and date of births. Inconsistencies in the documents will delay your visa application.
4. Make sure that your contact details are updated, so if the Department requires any additional information (often called Section 56 request), they can contact you effectively.
5. Make sure that you provide an explanation in writing such as cover letter stating the reasons for incomplete application or for any missing documents.

𝗧𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗻 𝟬𝟰𝟱𝟭 𝟰𝟬𝟬 𝟲𝟬𝟭  𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆.

This article/presentation (“publication”) does not deal extensively with important topics or changes in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader’s specific circumstances. If you find this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances, please contact our office.

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