Offshore visa
Statutory definition
The grant criterion specifying that an applicant must be outside Australia at the time of grant is set out in Schedule 2 for each visa subclass in the Migration Regulations 1994. Where a subclass requires the applicant to be offshore at grant, a person who is in Australia at the time of grant cannot be granted the visa regardless of meeting all other criteria.
Explanation
The offshore/onshore distinction has significant practical implications for applicants who are already in Australia. If a person applies for an offshore-only visa while in Australia, the application will fail at the time of decision unless the applicant has departed by then. Some subclasses allow applications to be made onshore but require the applicant to be offshore at grant — applicants must depart to receive the visa. Practitioners must always check the grant location requirement for the relevant subclass before lodging an application.