Editor's Blog

There is hope for the hopeless although the process of reconsidering his visa cancellation left Ricardo Bolvaran with ‘thoughts about suicide’.

Despite having lived in Australia for 41 of his 42 years, Mr Bolvaran, a recovering ice addict, was deported to Chile, the country of his birth late last year following his imprisonment in Brisbane's Wacol prison for drugs-related offences. Given that s501 of the Migration Act allows for automatic cancellation, if he had refused to leave, he would have been detained on Christmas Island while the DIBP reconsidered the cancellation decision.

However, within some 6 months of his deportation, the decision to cancel his visa was revoked yesterday by the DIBP paving the way for him to return to Australia.

According to a report in the Brisbane Times the DIBP case officer’s letter informing Mr Bolvaran of the decision read, "You were invited to ask for revocation of the original decision and you made representations to the decision-maker about why the original decision should be revoked,"

"After consideration of your response, the decision-maker has decided to revoke the original decision to cancel your visa.

"S501CA(5) of the Migration Act provides that if the decision to cancel your visa is revoked the original decision is taken not to have been made.”

A person can seek revocation of the cancellation decision within strict timeframes, but needs to provide sufficient reasons as to why their visa should be reinstated. This is generally done by addressing Ministerial Direction 65.

Mr Bolvaran who is now trying to arrange a new resident return visa from the Australian Embassy in Santiago told the newspaper that he could not believe the outcome.

"Until I'm there and past Immigration, Customs and Border Security, I won't believe it" said Mr Bolvaran who lived for 41 years in Australia as a permanent resident thinking it was the same as having citizenship.

DIBP has cancelled over 1000 visas in the last year on character grounds pursuant to section 501, regardless of length of residence in Australia and level of absorption into the Australian community.

Bolvaran's case has troubled the president of the Queensland Council of Civil Liberties, [NAME REMOVED TO PROTECT PRIVACY] who last month pointed out Bolvaran was "essentially Australian" and a product of Australian society. Ms [NAME REMOVED] said the case raised wider questions about the deportation of Australian-bred criminals.

Queensland Public Interest Law Clearing House principal solicitor Karen Dyhrberg said Bolvaran's case was by no means unique. Ms Dyhrberg said QPILCH had dealt with several similar cases and says deportation is in effect, a further punishment for a crime "even if that's not legally the reason it's being done”.

"I think the challenge we see is it can be put in place even for relatively minor prison sentences – it just has to be one year – and it certainly puts some vulnerable people at risk of further significant adverse consequences," said Ms Dyhrberg.