Always Provide Genuine Documents – it may come back to bite!
The Public Interest Criteria
When applying for a visa you must satisfy the Public Interest Criteria 4020 (PIC 4020), the Department of Home Affairs will need to be content that all information provided as part of a visa application is correct and authentic.
There are two steps to satisfying the PIC 4020:
- The documents are not fraudulent or bogus; and
- Whether the Department of Home Affairs is happy with the identity of the applicant.
What is a Bogus Document?
A bogus document is a document that is fake or has been falsified in any way. A bogus document can include but not limited to:
- Birth certificates;
- Academic transcripts;
- Medical certificates; and
- Passports
The PIC 4020 can be applied very broadly to any document found within a visa application. If you rely or use a bogus document or false information as part of your applicant, there is a chance your visa may be refused.
The Department of Home Affairs refused my visa
If the Department of Home Affairs refused your visa under PIC 4020, the consequences are very serious. It is within the Department of Home Affairs authority to place a ban on you from applying for an Australian visa for a maximum of 10 years. The Department of Home Affairs may also decide to refuse to grant visas to your family members.
Case of Haidari
Ali Haidari travelled to Australia and was granted a protection visa in 2010, his Australian citizenship was cancelled in 2017, as the Department of Home Affairs discovered he used a bogus driver’s licence in his application. Mr Haidari used a bogus Afghan driver’s licence to get an Australian driver’s licence. The information of the fake licence was discovered during an interview with the Department of Home Affairs when they wanted to assess his identity.
Mr Haidari, provided an Afghan licence dated 2013 which allowed for him to operate heavy vehicles, such as trucks. He told the officers during an interview that he obtained the licence from friends in Pakistan and that he has never driven a heavy vehicle before. His reasoning for knowingly obtaining a bogus licence was that he needed it for jobs and could bypass the usual process of an Australian licence, which is first a learners then the provisional licence.
Department officers asked Mr Haidari if his licence was bogus, his reply was ‘yes’.
In late May 2019, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal decided to quash Mr Haidari’s application to review the decision to cancel his Australian citizenship on the basis that he is not of good character. During the appeal hearing, it was claimed that Mr Haidari told the Department that the licence was bogus in 2017, before his interview with them. He also made claims that he wasn’t aware that the Afghan licence was bogus.
Tribunal member Roger Maguire made the following observation, that Mr Haidari “knowingly produced a bogus document due to his previous travelling between Afghanistan to Australia via Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia without once producing a legitimate travel document”.
Mr Haidari’s appeal was dismissed.
Importance of Providing Legitimate Documents
It is very important to ensure you are providing legitimate and correct documents to the Department when applying for a visa. If misleading or bogus documents are used, it is very likely that the Department may revoke any visa that has been granted and place a ban for applying for a visa for up to 10 years.
If you require further information, please contact the friendly team at Results Migration. Call us on 1800 808 717 or email us on [email protected] and book your free consultation today!
