The Federal Court has upheld the decision to cancel a woman’s visa who knew she was suffering from a kidney disease before she came to Australia but did not inform the Immigration department about it.
Soon after coming to Australia in March 2014, Sima Mitra went to a hospital in Albury and indicated she’d require dialysis regularly. Just eight months before that, she had been given an ‘A-Grade’ health rating at a medical clinic in Bangladesh as part of her medical assessment for visa processing.
A Commonwealth Medical officer at the hospital where she presented herself in Albury informed the Immigration Department of Ms Mitra’s medical condition and her visa was cancelled in June 2014.
The Immigration Department cancelled her visa in June 2014 on the basis that she did not notify it of her medical condition despite having known about it for a “substantial period” before she entered Australia with her husband and child.
Ms Mitra claimed she wasn’t aware that she was suffering from a kidney disease until after she was granted her visa in September 2013. She said she suddenly got a high fever and other symptoms and was diagnosed with “diseased kidneys” in October 2013 and that she had dialysis.
She told the Migration Review Tribunal that she was unaware of the requirement of notifying the Department of any changes in her circumstances after the visa was granted.
Federal Court of Australia Source: ABC Australia
However, the Tribunal was satisfied that Ms Mitra had breached the law by not informing the Department of her medical condition since she admitted that she was aware of it before she came to Australia.
It found that Ms Mitra withheld information about her kidney disease knowing that it would have prevented her and her family members from entering Australia. The Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel her visa.
Her appeal against the decision was subsequently refused by the Federal Circuit Court of Australia in November 2016 and by the Federal Court of Australia last week. It also emerged that the clinic where Ms Mitra had her medical examination done in Bangladesh for her visa had been under investigation.
Notifying change in circumstances
Australia’s Migration law requires applicants to notify the Department of Home Affairs about any changes in their circumstances if they render answers on their visa application incorrect. Applicants must, as soon as practicable, inform an officer in writing of the new circumstances.
If the applicant is in Australia at the time the visa is granted, applicants have to notify of the changes in circumstances before the visa is granted. However, those outside Australia must notify of a change in their circumstances before they are immigration cleared and arrive in Australia.
The court found that Ms Mitra’s purported lack of knowledge of her medical condition did not exempt her from the mandatory requirement of notifying the change in her circumstances to the Department before coming to Australia.
The court also said that under the visa cancellation provisions of the Migration law provided that an answer to a question is incorrect even if the applicant did not know that it was incorrect.
