I have been working as a Registered Migration Agent since 2010 – so just 4 years. From the onset of my tenure with Perdaman Global Services I was thrown into the world of the dreaded Migration Review Tribunal (MRT). The reason it is so dreaded, is that agents only end up here if they have had a visa refused. Neither agents nor our clients want a visa refusal on our records.
Sometimes the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) takes a narrow interpretation of their own policies i.e. very black and white. I like MRT because they tend to take a more practical approach, they will look at individual cases in detail and make an assessment on the merits of each case.
I began 2014 preparing for an MRT hearing scheduled for 9 January 2014. My colleagues consider me with a mixture of pity and envy. We all want our day in court, but not so much to be grilled and cross examined by an MRT official. I must admit, I love MRT hearings. And this one would be especially sweet.
What makes me really happy is getting to represent good, hard-working people, and getting them a successful result. My clients were two Filipino ladies who work at McDonalds in regional areas south of Mandurah. They had been refused their permanent residency applications. In my opinion the Department applied a law which was technically correct, but practically not fair or equitable.
Of course at the end of the hearing, the MRT member left us hanging, saying that he couldn’t let us know either way until he had reviewed the additional material (aaaghhh). But a week later a fax came through with the wonderful words “The tribunal sets aside the decision under review and substitutes a decision approving the nomination”.
The MRT then remitted the applications back to DIBP, and then we all had to wait another grueling wait (14 January 2014 to 4 March 2014) while the applicants get their medicals done and provide new police clearances.
Today, 5 March 2014, we received the news that the permanent residency has been approved. This is the best part of my job – passing on the good news. Micah is particularly excited and in her email she said “thank you Lord, thank you Kylie. I’m so happy…at last I can see my kids”. And I even had an email from the employer who had some happy tears.
Contributed by:
Kylie Ford
Contents of the blog are the opinion of the writer which is not migration advice provided by Perdaman Global Services. If you wish to proceed with an application, we strongly suggest and encourage you to seek the advice of a registered migration agent
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