Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian visa program contains visas specific to offshore and onshore applicants. To obtain a humanitarian visa applicants must demonstrate they fall within Australia’s protection obligations. The following provides details of Australia’s onshore humanitarian visas.

Subclass 866 Permanent Protection Visa

Applicants located in Australia who are seeking protection of Australia and arrived lawfully may be eligible to apply for a Subclass 866 Permanent Protection visa.

Visa requirements include, but are not limited to, applicants being:

• Present in Australia after entry on a valid visa;
• A claiming of Australia’s protection as a refugee or under the complementary protection scheme;
• Not subject to any statutory bars.

The Subclass 866 Permanent Protection visa allows holders to:

• Stay in Australia permanently;
• Work and study in Australia;
• Access Medicare;
• Sponsor eligible relatives for permanent visas;
• Apply for Australian citizenship upon meeting eligibility requirements.

Holders of Permanent Protection visas should note that while their visa contains a travel facility for five years from date visa grant, they are not able to travel to the country from which protection was sought except where the Minister has provided written approval.

Temporary Protection and Safe Haven Enterprise Visas

Where an applicant did not arrive lawfully in Australia and seeks protection, they can only apply for a Subclass 785 Temporary Protection Visa or a Subclass 790 Safe Haven Enterprise visa. How an application is processed depends on the date and mode of the applicant’s arrival in Australia, and whether or not the applicant was transferred to a regional processing centre outside of Australia, including the processing centres in Nauru or Papua New Guinea.

Subclass 785 Temporary Protection Visa

The Subclass 785 Temporary Protection Visa allows a holder to:

• Stay in Australia for up to three years;
• Work in Australia;
• Access Medicare;
• Access limited social security services;

Subclass 785 visa holders who seek to travel outside of Australia must apply for approval and show compassionate or compelling circumstances that justify any intended travel and will not be able to travel to the country in which the visa holder has sought protection from. Subclass 785 visa holders will need to apply for a further visa prior to the expiry of their current visa and will have their protection claims assessed again to determine whether they continue to meet relevant visa criteria.

Subclass 785 visas do not allow the holder to:

• Travel to the country from which protection was sought;
• Apply for another visa, other than another temporary humanitarian visa;
• Sponsor family members for a visa.

Subclass 790 Safe Haven Enterprise Visa

An applicant may be eligible for a Subclass 790 Safe Haven Enterprise Visawhere:

• Invited to apply for a SHEV and lodge a valid application;
• Assessed as engaging Australia’s protection obligations;
• The applicant or a member of their family intends to work or study in a regional area of Australia and will not apply for Centrelink payments;
• Meeting relevant Public Interest Criteria.

The Subclass 790 Safe Haven Enterprise Visa allows a holder to:

• Remain in Australia for up to five years;
• Work in Australia;
• Access Medicare;
• Access limited social security services;
• Access the Adult Migrant English Programme (AMEP);
• Access to government-funded education where a minor.

Subclass 790 visa holders who seek to travel outside of Australia must apply for approval and show compassionate or compelling circumstances that justify any intended travel and will not be able to travel to the country in which the visa holder has sought protection from. Subclass 790 visa holders will need to apply for a further visa prior to the expiry of their current visa and will have their protection claims assessed again to determine whether they continue to meet relevant visa criteria.

Applicants may also be able to apply for limited other visas where the person held a Subclass 790 for at least 3 and a half years and where during that time period the applicant:

• Lived in certain regional areas of Australia; and
• Has not accessed certain Centrelink payments; and
• Worked or studied full-time at specific education institutions.

Subclass 790 visas do not allow the holder to:

• Travel to the country from which protection was sought;
• Apply for other visas except a further temporary humanitarian visa or in the limited circumstances described above;
• Sponsor family members for a visa.

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