What is Condition 8503 (“No Further Stay”)?
While in Australia, if you have held a visa with an “8503 – No Further Stay” condition imposed on it since last entering Australia, you will not be able to apply for any substantive visas other than protection visas.
The condition continues to apply even if the visa to which it was attached ceases to be in effect. That is, the visa condition remains in effect while the visa holder remains in Australia unless it has been waived or the visa holder leaves Australia.
You can check if your visa has a No Further Stay condition by checking your visa grant letter or VEVO.
Why does the Department of Home Affairs impose condition 8503 on visitor visas?
The purpose of the No Further Stay condition is to prevent the visa holder from lodging a further visa application in Australia. The condition was introduced to afford additional assurance to the Australian Government that the visa holder will depart Australia before their visa was expired.
In recent years, the condition has been used as a mechanism to reduce the non-return rates for several high-risk countries, as well as to allow queued parents the opportunity to visit their children in Australia for extended periods.
When can Condition 8503 be waived?
Before condition 8503 can be waived from your visa, you will need to show that since the visa was granted, compelling and compassionate circumstances have developed:
- Over which you had no control; and
- That resulted in a major change in your circumstances.
If you have previously requested a waiver which was unsuccessful, you must demonstrate that your circumstances for a new request are substantially different from those previously presented.
Waiver requests are reviewed on their merits, and it is the visa holder’s responsibility to explain why their circumstances warrant waiving the restriction. Supporting documentation, such as a medical certificate, death certificate, or letter, should accompany the waiver request, where applicable.
If a No Further Stay condition is waived, the visa holder is no longer subject to that condition, and they can lawfully apply for and be granted a further substantive visa in Australia.
If the condition is not waived, the visa holder will not be able to apply for another substantive visa in Australia. Furthermore, a waiver decision is final and is not merits-reviewable
What are compelling and compassionate circumstances?
The compelling and compassionate circumstances giving rise to your request for a waiver must be beyond your control and need to have developed since the visa to which condition 8503 applies was granted to you.
Under the policy, “compelling and compassionate” circumstances can be understood as circumstances that:
- are sufficiently forceful and convincing for the condition to be waived
- are not unreasonable (in that no reasonable decision-maker could conclude that the circumstances are not compelling) and
- give rise to feelings of sympathy for the suffering or misfortune of others.
The following are types of circumstances that the Department of Home Affairs might consider to be compelling and compassionate circumstances (not this list is not exhaustive but merely examples – other circumstances may also meet the requirements):
- Unfitness to travel
- Death or serious illness within close family
- Natural disaster in your home country
- War or severe civil unrest in your home country
- Closure or inability of education provider
- Government support
The following are types of circumstances that in itself will not be generally sufficient to warrant a waiver:
- Marriage to, or the commencement of a de facto partner relationship with, an Australian citizen or resident
- Pregnancy
- Failure to complete a course due to failing a subject(s)
This article contains general information on condition 8503 and waiver requests. The above information is not intended to be legal advice.
If you hold a visa with condition 8503 imposed on it and believe you may be eligible to apply for a waiver, please contact Migration Affairs so we can assess your circumstances and advise you on your best course of action.
