Religious worker visas for their pastors gained by 2 very different Sydney churches
You can learn from these two cases of an American man, his wife and 2 children and a Malaysian man with his wife and 3 children who had traveled to Australia to join and work at two separate and very different Sydney north shore churches in two very different denominations on 2 unrelated visa applications.
Religious worker visa conditions
Australian migration law required both visa applicants to prove they were qualified for the job as pastor and that they had the support and sponsorship of the church itself.
In order to establish these facts we had to produce evidence for our clients including:
- the resumes of the pastors
- the nature of the employment relationship
- the financial aspects of the church sponsoring
- the future plans for the pastor’s work in Australia
- the health and good character of the pastors and each member of their families (as in all visa applications)
The churches and pastors couples did not get professional or independent migration advice or representation before their pastors arrived in Australia and had settled in with their families and schools and houses without knowing for sure that all would be fine for their future.
Like many people, they were not sure when they first arrived in Australia that they really wanted to stay here long term and were gambling with their migration by not making any long term secure plans.
Here’s what our client wrote to us on 22/11/10 after one of these two visa grants:
Justin executed in a reasonable short time frame with diligence, integrity and efficient service with value for money – we got a successful result and achieved our goal.
Immigration points worth learning from for future visa applications
First – it is always better to get migration advice and assistance before you commit to important matters such as housing and schooling
Second – if an employer wants to be sure they can keep a valued migrant employee, then they too must do proper migration planning
Third – there are some very unusual and occupation specific visas that exist – who would have thought there was a visa just for religious workers? There are other visas for specific occupations, such as doctors for example, and there are many visas where there are lists of very specific occupations necessary for grant of the visa.
How you can benefit from our migration law advice as these visa applicants could have done
In conclusion – as you will never know all the laws and policy requirements that apply when you make a visa application, so you must get advice from a qualified and registered migration professional and as soon as possible.
Many, many people wrongly and, to be frank, foolishly think that arriving in Australia on a short term visa means they will be able to stay here permanently by just extending their short term stay and that they can do it all themselves without any legal assistance.
On the surface it may seem easy to plan long term if getting into Australia in the first place was easy (especially for people from countries like America) – heck, all you have to do is prove you are a law abiding citizen with a good passport and you are in!
These two cases dissected here prove beyond doubt that is not correct.
Precise evidence must be provided in all the necessary categories and it has to cover all the aspects of each of those categories. Failure to do this can lead to visa refusals and the added expense of delays, appealing to migration tribunals and or leaving Australia and reapplying. This will be very, very expensive and inconvenient as well as stressful for the entire family.
Your chances of obtaining an Australian visa when you want are always greatly improved when you obtain well researched and finely argued migration advice and assistance in your visa application.
Take the first step to your new life in Australia with our Free Immigration Consultation – learn more.