Permanent Residency Granted After 20 Years of Unlawful Residence — Ministerial Intervention for UK Couple

Visa TypePermanent Residency / Ministerial Intervention

CategoryDetention / Unlawful Non-Citizen

Case Summary

A UK couple who had been unknowingly living unlawfully in Australia for nearly 20 years, after being misled by a migration agent about visa requirements, were facing deportation when Compliance contacted them. We successfully obtained Ministerial Intervention, and both were granted permanent residency.

Background

A UK husband and wife arrived in Australia on Visitor visas and, before those expired, sought advice from a migration agent about working legally in Australia. The agent told them they needed a Tax File Number (TFN) to work — but the couple mistakenly understood that obtaining a TFN satisfied their visa obligations as well, and made no further visa arrangements. For nearly 20 years they lived and worked in Australia, unaware of their unlawful status. They did have some suspicions that something was not right but did not self-report to the authorities out of fear of detention and being separated. It was only when the Department's Compliance division contacted them that the situation came to light.

Challenges

Nearly 20 years of continuous unlawful residence — an extreme case of overstay
The couple had been living and working without valid visas — a significant compliance issue
Fear of detention and separation had prevented voluntary disclosure, which needed to be contextualised rather than treated as aggravating

How We Helped

We argued the case before the Minister. We established that the couple's unlawful status arose from a genuine and reasonable misunderstanding of the migration agent's advice and explained the circumstances that led to them not self-reporting. We highlighted their deep integration into Australian life after almost two decades — their social networks, friendships, and community roots were entirely in Sydney, with almost no remaining ties to the UK beyond family. Crucially, we submitted evidence of their significant positive contribution to Australia: the couple had established an organisation that provided employment skills training to disadvantaged Australians.

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Key Success Factors

Mistaken understanding of the migration agent's advice as the root cause of the unlawful status
Demonstrating that 20 years of integration had effectively made Australia the couple's home country in every practical sense
Strong positive contribution to Australia — the couple's organisation trained disadvantaged Australians in employment skills
Contextualisation of the failure to self-report as fear-driven rather than deliberate evasion

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Outcome

The Minister accepted our arguments as constituting unique and exceptional circumstances under the Ministerial Intervention criteria. Both members of the couple were granted permanent residency in Australia.

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