Public Interest Criteria 4005 and 4007

You have received a Natural Justice letter or an Invitation to Comment letter? Like this?

FORM  884:  OPINION OF  A  MEDICAL  OFFICER  OF  THE  COMMONWEALTH  

THE  APPLICANT  DOES  NOT  MEET  THE  HEALTH  REQUIREMENT  

The  applicant  has  been  assessed  against  Public  Interest  Criterion  (PIC)  4005  for  the  period  of  a  permanent  stay  in  Australia.

I  consider  that  a  hypothetical  person  with  this  disease  or  condition,  at  the  same  severity  as  the  applicant,  would  be  likely  to  require  health  care  or  community  services  during  the  period  specified.

You have had a visa medical and you are affected by PIC 4005 or PIC 4007?

For PIC 4005 that must be met in a visa medical and the condition is significant, you have a small chance of a visa being granted.  The letter may suggest you can reply and have a chance of success but in reality, the letter is a formality and your visa is heading for refusal.

For PIC 4007, the rules are quite different and have a better chance of success. The letter will say which criteria is being applied to your visa.

For instance, common conditions that cause this might include Hepatitis B or C, HIV, heart conditions etc. These have a potentially very high cost to the health system in Australia and they will assess the long term lifetime costs, or at least the term of the visa.  These conditions have an extremely small chance of being accepted for a visa.

You think you can reduce the cost by importing your own medication? Sorry, the Australian government must assume it will have to meet these costs. It will decide based on what the costs will be to them.

Can I appeal?  

An appeal applies the same law. If you are advised you can appeal, review the comments below, they will give you an idea of prospects of success.

What to do now?

Overseas applicants:

If you are overseas and with a significant health condition affected by PIC 4005, we regret we cannot assist.  However, we recommend you get a second opinion.

In Australia:

If you are in Australia there may be some options. What we need to see or know:

  1. You must have close relatives in Australia as Permanent Residents or Citizens or:
  2. If your visa is based on a specific highly sought after career type, advise us what it is. Very occasionally, a rare job very much needed by Australia can assist.

There is no waiver of the health condition if it comes under PIC 4005. If you meet some of the criteria in 1 or 2, contact us for an opinion. Send us the letter from the Department and the Medical Officers Opinion, Form 884.

If you fit into the categories 1 or 2 above, it is possible we can help with a different strategy to stay in Australia. Otherwise, we regret we cannot assist but we recommend you get a second opinion.

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