SHEV Subclass 790 Visa | Who Can Apply

SHEV Subclass 790 Visa or Safe Haven Enterprise Class XE Subclass 790 Visa: Who Can & When Can Apply

You can only apply for SHEV Subclass 790 visa if you arrived in Australia on a boat without a valid visa. You are classified as an IMA or Irregular Maritime Arrival or Unauthorised Maritime Arrival (click here to learn more). And you must have arrived between 13 August 2012 and 1 January 2014 and be invited by the Minister to apply for this visa (click here to learn more).

Please note that if you have been granted or previously held (and your visa was not cancelled) SHEV Subclass 790 visa and you first arrive in Australia before 14 February 2023, you may now be able to apply for a permanent visa.

The visa criteria are similarly to TPV Subclass 785 visa (click here to learn more) or other Protection visas.

The Department of Immigration (Department of Home Affairs) will only grant you a SHEV Subclass 790 if they accept that you have a well-founded fear of persecution and you are unable or unwilling to return to your home country, or unable and unwilling to seek the protection from your government.

In addition, you must have either suffered harm or persecution in the past and there is a real chance that you will suffer harm again if you were returned to your home country.

You could also become a sur place refugee after you have arrived in Australia because of a chance of circumstances in your home country, or a change in your personal circumstances that resulted in you having a well-founded fear of harm or persecution if you were returned to your home country.

You must have a well-founded fear of persecution or harm because of:

1. your race; or
2. your religion; or
3. your nationality; or
4. your political opinion (real or imputed); or
5. your membership of a particular social group; or
6. there is a substantial grounds that you will suffer or have suffered significant harm amounting to arbitrary deprivation of your life, or you will be sentenced to death, or you will be tortured, or you will suffer cruel or inhuman treatment or punishment or degrading treatment or punishment if you were to return to your home country.

You can include members of your family who accompanied you to Australia in a combined SHEV Subclass 790 visa application.

You cannot sponsor any of your family members who are outside of Australia.

The SHEV Subclass 790 visa is generally valid up to 5 years. This visa allows you to work or study and allows you to apply for some other visas, but not Protection Subclass 866 (click here to learn more). You can only apply for some other, such as skilled and family, visas after having employed or studied for at least 3.5 years in regional Australia, and you did not receive special social security benefit payments (you may be eligible for some social security benefits). You can also apply for a further SHEV Subclass 790 visa or TPV Subclass 785 visa if you still require Australia protection.

If your SHEV Subclass 790 visa application is refused, you are not permitted to apply to the AAT (click here to learn more) for a merits review of the refusal. However, your application will automatically be referred for fast track review by the Immigration Assessment Authority or IAA (click here to learn more). The IAA may not invite you for an interview nor allow you to provide further evidence unless the evidence is not available before or new evidence that come to light after the refusal.

Australian migration law is complex and difficult to understand, contact our immigration lawyer for a consultation (fee applies) to help you decide if this visa is the best visa for you (click here to find out how an immigration lawyer or registered migration agent can help you). You may also refer to our FAQs for answers regarding visa application or visa cancellation by clicking here.

This article is not intended to be or taken as migration legal advice. The author of this article disclaims any liability for any action or omission on the information provided or not provided in this article. You should always consult an immigration lawyer or a registered migration agent to form an informed opinion on your immigration matter.