Special Purpose Visa

Overview

In order to establish residency, it must first be decided if a person is an Australian resident. One definition of an Australian resident is a person who resides in Australia, is the holder of a special purpose visa and is likely to remain permanently in Australia. Below are details of what constitutes a special purpose visa.     

Who's Eligible

A special purpose visa is a temporary visa issued to a non-citizen:

• with a prescribed status; or
• who is declared, in writing, by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship to be deemed to have a prescribed status.

Who's Not Eligible

The Minister for Immigration and  Citizenship may make a written declaration, that it is undesirable that a person or class of persons be issued with a special purpose visa.

Example: - Persons not Considered to have Prescribed Status

The following are examples of persons that do not have a prescribed status and therefore have no legal right to stay in Australia:

• people who enter Australia without a current visa, (eg  stowaways or seamen who have deserted their ships without leave);
• people whose temporary visa expires or is cancelled by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship; or
• people who become absent without leave or cease to be members of the forces of another Commonwealth country.