Book Now Unlawful Pete (not his real name) contacted us after seeing this image on a recent DIBP Facebook post and on a poster in a regional office of the Dept.
Pete also saw the following reassuring message:
Has your visa expired? Our Community Status Resolution Service (CSRS) team will be able to provide you with information about your options.
The poster and the words made Pete feel safe in the knowledge that the DIBP would be able to grant him another visa if he asked nicely, and that nothing bad would happen if he reported in.
Pete was in fact calling us from his local immigration detention centre, waiting to be deported and escorted back home by two officers at his expense. As soon as he had approached the DIBP, he was detained. There was no time to pick up his belongings, settle accounts or sort out his rented apartment. Pete had been mislead and he did not "Get the right information" as promised on the poster.
Don't contact them, contact us!
If your visa has expired, there is a better solution than the one Pete chose.
It's quite simple. Contact an experienced Registered Migration Agent or Immigration Lawyer who can legally and ethically guide you through your options. Despite the Dept's claim to having the "right information", generally you are faced with only two options – either detention followed by deportation (the favourite), or if you're lucky, be granted a Bridging Visa E for a couple of days (less likely).
In any event, if you approach the DIBP or are lured in by their gentle words, your life as you know it in Australia will soon be a distant memory as you wing your way back to the country of your passport (and you get to pay for the tickets and the escorting officers tickets if they accompany you).
In reality, there are several lawful options available, should you find yourself in this situation.
If Pete had contacted us first, things would be different.
Unlawful? Want to find out confidentially what your options are? Contact us now.
