Your Working Holiday Visa is about to expire and you have decided to return home but, you have not yet explored all the sights Australia has to offer!

What can you do? Are you:

a) Able to stay a further 28 days following your visa expiration?

a) Going to apply for another visa?

c) Required to depart Australia once your visa has expired?

d) In need of some immigration advice specific to your situation and intention?

Option (a), whilst possible, is not recommended. This would mean you are non-compliant and so it creates a higher risk to your immigration status and consequence. Therefore, option (d) is best suited as a qualified professional registered with the industry regulatory body (OMARA) will help to understand your situation, advise in accordance with your objectives and mitigate factors causing to you to become an unlawful non-citizen in Australia.

Interestingly, there seems to be increased chatter on social media over whether visa holders can stay in Australia for another 28 days following visa expiration. Expat forums designed to support and bring migrant communities together are now starting to show frequent posts from various members seeking advice from their migrant peers – unfortunately, some of the information shared (based on their respective experiences) is not necessarily appropriate for another visa holder and can put them at risk.

What is the ‘28-day period’?

Some are using the term to refer to a period that follows a visa expiration date.

There can be consequences if caught overstaying your visa within or outside the so-called 28-day period however, those consequences can be more severe after 28 days.

Lawful vs Unlawful Non-Citizen

Generally, anyone who is not an Australian permanent resident or Australian citizen must be in Australia as a lawful non-citizen i.e. the holder of a valid visa.

Putting aside the intricacies of a tourist visa, you immediately become unlawful when your visa expires and you have remained in Australia without lodging another valid visa application.

The Impact of Being Unlawful

It is possible but, not a guaranteed strategy, to move from an unlawful to lawful status. However, unless you understand how this works, your opportunities for a further visa are going to be affected.

If you are caught in Australia as an unlawful non-citizen, either within or outside the 28-day period, you face significant and ongoing consequences including:

• Subject to detention and deportation from Australia, the costs of which the Australian government can seek to recover

• Departing as an unlawful non-citizen (i.e not regularising your status) may result in being detained on departure

• Negative implications on future visa applications e.g. visitor visa or work visa

• Negative implications on future permanent residence and citizenship applications

• Not being able to apply for particular visas. Each visa has their own criteria

Staying beyond the 28-day period can also include the following risks:

• Being excluded from returning to Australia for 3 years

• Having further exclusion periods added until any outstanding debts to the Commonwealth Government are paid. These include any costs for detaining and deporting you

Conclusion

It is great to share experiences but, everyone’s circumstance is different and what has worked for a friend or family member may not be suitable for you.

Remaining in Australia from the moment your visa expires, without having applied for another visa, will immediately cause you to be unlawful and this can have serious consequences irrelevant of whether the unlawful period is less or more than 28 days.  

If your visa is about to expire and you want to stay a little longer, we strongly urge you to seek professional advice from a registered migration agent or immigration lawyer to minimise the impact to your current and future status.

Contact us if you would like to know how you could be impacted by the topics raised in this article.