Visa validity date is sacrosanct

Suppose you have a ticket for a play happening in a theatre near you on a Friday evening but you turn up the next day saying you were stuck in traffic and demand to witness the play that day. Will your wish be granted? ‘Not at all’ is what I can see you answering.

Well, the same goes for your visa. If it has an expiry date, it does not matter whether the date falls on a Saturday or Sunday. You need to apply for an extension before expiry.

This was interpreted by the High Court of Australia judges adjudicating the case involving one Mr Kumar vs the immigration department on March 7, 2017.

Kumar was the holder of a Subclass 485 visa whose validity was expiring on January 12, 2014— a Sunday.

The applicant’s application was received by the department the next day, i.e. January 13, at their Perth office.

The application was for a Subclass 572 student visa.

The applicant’s application was not processed by the department and the matter reached the High Court of Australia which ruled against the applicant saying if a visa is stated to expire on a day, even if it is a Saturday, a Sunday, or a holiday, it just expires on the given date.

The takeaway from this ruling is that it does not matter if the visa is expiring on a weekend or not. The date of expiry is not dependent on business days and if one needs to apply for an extension, it should be done well within time.

Source: http://www.mealliance.com.au/news/visa-validity-date-is-sacrosanct/

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