“The purpose of the instrument is to remove the reference to special purpose visas (SPVs) granted to a person on the grounds that they are a crew member, or a spouse, de-facto partner or dependant of a crew member, of a non-military ship. These grounds have no longer been available for the granting of SPVs since 1 January 2008. The reference is therefore redundant”.
The new Migration (LIN 19/063: Class of Substantive Visa) Instrument 2019 will repeal the Migration (LIN 18/191: Substantive Visa Classes) Instrument 2018 and commence on 10 September 2019.
The new instrument contains a single provision, as follows:
For the purposes of paragraphs 82(2AA)(a) and (b) of the Act, all substantive temporary visas are specified as a class of substantive visa.
The new instrument’s explanatory statement includes the following passages:
3. Subsection 82(2) of the Act provides that a substantive visa as defined in subsection 5(1) of the Act held by a non-citizen ceases to be in effect if another substantive visa granted to the non-citizen comes into effect. Paragraph 82(2AA)(a) of the Act provides that, despite subsection 82(2) of the Act, a maritime crew visa (MCV) held by a non-citizen under section 38D of the Act does not cease to be in effect if a substantive visa, in a class specified by the Minister, granted to the non-citizen, comes into effect.
4. Similarly, paragraph 82(2AA)(b) of the Act provides that, despite subsection 82(2) of the Act, a substantive visa, in a class specified by the Minister, held by a non-citizen, does not cease to be in effect if an MCV granted to the non-citizen comes into effect. The result of these provisions is that the class of substantive visas specified by the Minister in the instrument can be held concurrently with an MCV.
5. The instrument operates to specify all substantive temporary visas as defined in the instrument as a class of substantive visa for the purposes of paragraphs 82(2AA)(a) and (b) of the Act.
6. The purpose of the instrument is to remove the reference to special purpose visas (SPVs) granted to a person on the grounds that they are a crew member, or a spouse, de-facto partner or dependant of a crew member, of a non-military ship. These grounds have no longer been available for the granting of SPVs since 1 January 2008. The reference is therefore redundant.
Disclaimer: the above is a mere tentative analysis of some pieces of legislation. The views there expressed might not reflect the views of the OMARA, Department, the AAT or the courts. The law or policies might have changed between the writing and reading of this article. The author of this article and Migration Law Updates disclaim any liability for any action (or omission) on their part based on any information provided (or not provided) in this article and are under no obligation to keep the general public nor practitioners informed about the matters discussed in this article or any other matters, or any future changes to any of those matters. It is the responsibility of each practitioner to obtain access to primary sources of law and policy by themselves and to carry out their own research and come to their own conclusions on legislation, case law, policies and more. This article is not intended for the general public.
Sergio Zanotti Stagliorio is a Registered Migration Agent (MARN 1461003). He is the owner of Target Migration in Sydney. He can be reached at sergio@targetmigration.com.au