Is this your situation?
You received a visa refusal and you want to know exactly how long you have to respond. The answer matters because once the deadline passes, your merits review rights are gone permanently.
The time limits
For most onshore visa refusals, you have 21 calendar days from the date you are taken to have received the decision. For offshore visa refusals, the period is typically 70 calendar days. For cancellation decisions where you were in immigration detention, the period can be as short as 7 working days.
These deadlines are prescribed by the Migration Act and the Migration Regulations. They are not guidelines. They are hard limits set by legislation. The ART cannot extend them, waive them, or make exceptions.
How the “date of receipt” is calculated
The starting date is not when you read the letter. It is when you are “taken to have received” it under the legislation. If the notice was sent by post, you are deemed to have received it 7 working days after the date printed on the letter. If sent electronically through ImmiAccount, the deemed receipt date is the date it appeared in your account.
This calculation catches many people off guard. A letter dated 1 April and sent by post means deemed receipt around 10 April (depending on weekends and public holidays). Your 21-day window runs from 10 April, making your deadline around 1 May. If you do not check your mail until 20 April, you only have about 11 days left, not 21.
What happens if you miss the deadline
The ART will not accept your review application. There is no “good reason” exception. There is no late lodgement provision for most migration reviews. If your agent failed to tell you about the deadline, or if the letter went to the wrong address, or if you were in hospital, the deadline still applies.
After missing the deadline, your remaining options narrow significantly: judicial review (limited to legal error), ministerial intervention (discretionary), or departing and reapplying offshore.
Call now if your deadline is approaching.
Amanpreet Bhangoo (MARN 1573884) can lodge an ART application urgently to preserve your review rights. Call (07) 3519 7009.
FAQ
Q: Can I get the ART to accept a late application?
In most migration cases, no. The ART has no power to extend the prescribed period.
Q: Are there any exceptions to the 21-day rule?
There are different time limits for different visa types and circumstances (7 working days in detention, 70 days offshore). But within each category, the time limit is fixed.
