790 Safe Haven Enterprise visa (subclass 790)

At a Glance

Item	Details
Visa name	Safe Haven Enterprise visa (subclass 790)
Purpose	Temporary protection for eligible asylum seekers
Stay	5 years
Cost	AUD50.00
Processing	Processing times unavailable
Apply from	Australia only
Eligibility timing	Must be in Australia when applying
Work rights	Work permitted
Study	Study permitted
Medicare	Access available
Government services	Centrelink and Workforce Australia access
Travel facility	Restricted; written approval required
Citizenship	Not eligible while holding SHEV
Family sponsorship	Cannot sponsor family visas
Family members	Eligible family unit may apply together
Visa record	Digitally linked; no visa label
Key condition	Intend regional work or study

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Purpose

The Safe Haven Enterprise visa (SHEV) is for people who arrived in Australia without a visa and seek asylum. It is temporary and may be granted where Australia’s protection obligations are engaged and all other requirements are met.

Eligibility

You must:

• Be a refugee or meet Australia’s complementary protection criteria.
• Be unable to make a valid permanent Protection visa (subclass 866) application.
• Have entered Australia without a valid visa, not been immigration cleared, be an unauthorised maritime arrival, or hold or have held an eligible temporary protection-related visa.
• Meet identity, health, character and security requirements.
• Sign a declaration that you intend to work or study in regional Australia.
• Not be subject to an application bar, unless the Minister has lifted it.

You may be required to provide biometrics, including fingerprints and a facial photograph.

If you are 18 or older, you must read, or have explained to you, the Life in Australia booklet and sign or accept the Australian Values Statement.

Application bars

You may not be able to make a valid SHEV application if you are, or have been, in certain circumstances, including where you:

• Are an unauthorised maritime arrival.
• Were immigration cleared on arrival.
• Have had a protection visa refused or cancelled since your last arrival.
• Hold or held a Humanitarian Stay (Temporary) visa (subclass 449) since last entering Australia.
• Are a transitory person.

The Minister may lift an application bar if this is in the public interest. The Department will tell you if a bar affects your application.

Family Members

Eligible members of the same family unit may apply together if they are in Australia when applying.

This may include:

• Your spouse or de facto partner.
• Dependent children or step-children.
• Other dependent relatives.

A dependent child is generally under 18. A child aged 18 or over may qualify if incapacitated for work, or wholly or substantially reliant on a parent or step-parent for financial, psychological or physical support. A child who is married, engaged or in a de facto relationship is not a dependent child.

Other dependent relatives must generally have no spouse or de facto partner, usually live with the family head, and be wholly or substantially reliant on them.

All included family members must meet health, character and security requirements.

Adding family after lodgement

Before a decision, you may add only:

• A spouse or de facto partner of an existing applicant; or
• A dependent child of an existing applicant.

They must be in Australia, eligible for the visa, and added using Form 1436 with relationship evidence.

Newborn children

A child born after lodgement and before decision is generally taken to be included in the application, unless the child is an Australian citizen at birth.

Notify the Department promptly using Form 1022, with a colour scan or photo of the birth certificate.

What the Visa Allows

For 5 years, you can:

• Live, work and study in Australia.
• Access Medicare, Centrelink and Workforce Australia services.
• Access short-term torture and trauma counselling when required.
• Attend free English language classes if eligible.
• Obtain an ImmiCard if eligible.
• Be protected by Australian workplace law.

Check your individual visa conditions through VEVO.

Travel Restrictions

Visa condition 8570 restricts travel.

You must not:

• Travel to or enter your home country under any circumstances.
• Use your home-country passport to travel.
• Travel to another country without prior written Department approval.

Travel to another country is only permitted for compassionate or compelling reasons, with written approval before leaving Australia. Apply using Form 1454 and email it to travel.request@homeaffairs.gov.au.

Travelling without approval, or entering the country from which you were granted protection, breaches condition 8570. The Department may cancel your visa and family members’ visas while you are outside Australia.

Before travel, you must:

• Obtain a DFAT travel document, such as a Convention Travel Document or Certificate of Identity.
• Check that the document permits entry to the destination country.
• Update the Department with new travel-document details.
• Ensure the SHEV remains in effect for the whole trip.

If your visa expires while you are overseas, you cannot return to Australia or apply for another SHEV or TPV.

Consular assistance is generally available only to Australian citizens, and to permanent residents in crisis situations.

Applying

You must apply online through ImmiAccount.

1. Check eligibility.
2. Gather identity, protection-claim and family documents.
3. Complete the online application truthfully and completely.
4. Attach supporting documents.
5. Pay the visa application charge.
6. Keep your Transaction Reference Number (TRN).

The Department will not process the application until the charge is paid. However, if you are in immigration detention and have not been immigration cleared, you do not have to pay the charge.

A bridging visa may be granted while the SHEV application is processed. Whether it permits work depends on individual circumstances.

If you leave Australia while the application is pending, your bridging visa expires and you cannot re-enter unless you hold another valid visa.

Required Evidence

Provide as much information and supporting evidence as possible when applying. The Department may decide based only on the material you provide.

Identity documents

Provide colour scans or photographs of original and translated documents, where available, such as:

• All passport pages, including current and expired passports.
• Birth certificate.
• National identity card.
• Driver licence.
• Name-change evidence, including marriage, divorce or official change-of-name documents.
• Other documents supporting identity, nationality or citizenship.

If you cannot provide identity or travel documents, include a statement explaining why.

Protection claims

Answer all protection-claim questions and provide supporting evidence where possible. Your claims should address:

• The country from which you seek protection.
• Why you left and cannot return.
• Harm experienced, feared harm, and who caused it.
• Why you fear future harm.
• Whether safe relocation within that country is possible.
• Whether local authorities can protect you.
• When you left your home country and how you travelled to Australia.

Family and relationship evidence

Provide evidence for each relationship in the application, such as:

• Birth, marriage or notarial certificates.
• Evidence supporting de facto relationships.
• Financial documents and undertakings.
• Evidence of dependency for applicants aged over 18.

Character documents

Provide military service or discharge records for anyone who served in armed forces.

Do not obtain police certificates until requested. The Department may request certificates from countries where you lived for 12 months or more in the past 10 years after turning 16, except the country from which you claim protection.

Document format

• Translate all non-English documents into English.
• Include originals and translations.
• Australian translators must be NAATI accredited.
• Upload clear colour scans or photos.
• Save multi-page documents as one file.
• Attach each document only once.
• Online documents do not need certification.

After Applying

The Department will send an acknowledgement letter after receiving your application.

You may be asked to:

• Undertake health examinations after receiving a HAP ID.
• Provide biometrics.
• Attend an interview.
• Provide further information by a specified date.

Failure to provide requested biometrics makes the application invalid. Any bridging visa granted may end 35 days after notification of invalidity.

If invited to interview, make every reasonable effort to attend. The Department may decide using available information if you do not attend.

Submit further information through ImmiAccount at least 5 working days before an interview where possible.

Bring original identity documents, English translations, protection evidence, and your interview invitation if attending in person.

Obligations

You and included family members must:

• Obey Australian laws.
• Comply with all visa conditions.
• Keep contact details current.
• Notify the Department within 28 days of an address change.
• Notify changes to name, passport, contact details, relationship status, pregnancy, birth or death in the family.
• Provide truthful, complete information.

False or misleading information may lead to refusal, visa cancellation, or criminal penalties.

To correct an application mistake, submit Form 1023 through ImmiAccount.

Visa Outcome and Review

The Department will notify you in writing of its decision.

If granted, the grant letter states the visa grant number, grant and expiry dates, and visa conditions.

If refused, the refusal letter states reasons and any review rights. You may apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) for merits review within the stated timeframe.

The visa application charge is not refunded if the application is refused.

Staying Longer

A SHEV ends 5 years after grant.

If granted a SHEV on or after 14 February 2023, you must apply for a subsequent SHEV or Temporary Protection visa (TPV) before expiry if you still need protection and are not subject to an application bar.

SHEV and TPV holders or former holders who arrived before 14 February 2023 may be eligible for the permanent Resolution of Status visa (subclass 851).

After notification that an application bar has been lifted, apply before the SHEV expires. The Department recommends applying at least 3 months before expiry.

If you make a valid subsequent SHEV, TPV or Resolution of Status visa application while holding a SHEV:

• Your SHEV remains in effect until a decision.
• Work and study rights continue.
• Medicare and Centrelink eligibility continues, but you must renew your Medicare card.

If your SHEV expires without a valid subsequent application, you become unlawful, must arrange to depart Australia, and may be barred from applying again for a SHEV or TPV.

Important Warnings

• You cannot sponsor family members through Australia’s Humanitarian or Family Migration Programs while holding a SHEV.
• You cannot apply for Australian citizenship while holding a SHEV.
• Withdrawing a SHEV application while on a bridging visa may prevent a later SHEV or TPV application; the bridging visa expires 35 days after withdrawal.
• If your application is finally refused and you do not hold another visa, you must leave Australia or may be removed.
• Keep your grant notification and check visa details and expiry through VEVO.