Like many countries, Australia has visas in place to offer protection for asylum seekers.
A Protection visa (subclass 866) allows a person who is at real risk of significant harm or persecution in their home country to live in Australia permanently. A Protection visa is not for people who just want to stay longer in Australia to work.
You cannot apply for a Protection visa if you are outside Australia. You must have arrived in Australia on a valid visa and be immigration cleared on arrival.
Big changes have been made to the Protection visa application process to speed up processing times. Most new applications are now decided almost 8 times faster compared to recent years. This means a quicker grant of Protection visas to those in need and swift refusal for those who apply for a Protection visa to simply work or extend their stay in Australia.
Do not apply for a Protection visa if you do not need asylum in Australia. We quickly refuse applicants who do not meet Protection visa criteria.
If you are thinking about applying for a Protection visa (subclass 866), we strongly encourage you to get
free legal help from a specialist refugee and immigration legal provider.