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Visa statistics

Statistical information on visit, study, work,  migration and humanitarian visas.

​​​Key visa cancellation statistics

The following graphs provide a graphical representation of visa cancellations ​for key cohorts under the Migration Act 1958.​

Character cancellations and refusals

More information about the Australian character requirements for visas is available.

Character refusal or cancellation decisions will, as a consequence, lead to any undecided visa applications or visas held also being refused or cancelled. Consequential cancellation or refusal figures are not reflected in the following (character related) graphs.

Character cancellations and refusals since the 2012-13 financial year

This graph represents all character (section 501) cancellations and visa refusals over the last 10​ financial years.

Between the 2013–14 and 2021–22 financial years, the number of visa cancellations on character grounds have increased significantly​ due to December 2014 legislative amendments to the Migration Act 1958. These amendments introduced, among other things, a new mandatory cancellation provision under section 501(3A). See the Explanatory Memorandum​ for these amendments.


 

Graph - all character (section 501) cancellations and visa refusals over the last seven financial years.

Crime types for character cancellations over the last 12 months

This graph represents the number of character cancellations undertaken from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021, grouped by crime type. For the purposes of this graph, only the primary offence category is shown; the field is therefore not exhaustive as non-citizens may have multiple offences/sentences recorded.

Graph - number of character cancellations undertaken from 1 January 2018 – 31 December 2018, grouped by crime type.

Character cancellations by state or territory over the last 12 months

This graph shows the number of character cancellations undertaken from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 grouped by the Australian state/territory location of the visa holder at the time of cancellation consideration.

Graph - number of character cancellations undertaken from 1 January 2018 – 31 December 2018 grouped by the Australian state/territory location of  the visa holder at the time of cancellation consideration.

Top 10 nationalities featured in character cancellations over the last 12 months

This graph represents character cancellations undertaken from 1 January 2021 to 31 Decem​​​​ber 2021 grouped by nationality.

Graph - character cancellations undertaken from 1 January 2018 – 31 December 2018 grouped by nationality.

Revocation outcomes for character cancellations over the last 12 months

A non-citizen whose visa is mandatorily cancelled can seek to have the cancellation decision revoked. This graph represents the number of finalised revocation requests from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021.

A ‘Revoked’ outcome results in a visa being reinstated, whereas a ‘Not Revoked’ outcome upholds the original cancellation decision.

Graph - number of finalised revocation requests from 1 January 2018 – 31 December 2018

Student visa cancellations across all cancellation powers – past 10​ financial years

The student visa cancellation numbers in the graph below broadly follow trends related to the number of international students in Australia during these financial years. The increase in offshore cancellations through 2014-15 and 2015-16 coincides with a new business model deployed by the Department to reduce the timeframe for cancellation decisions. The total cancellation numbers in 2020-21 have decreased as a result of the impact related to the COVID 19 pandemic.

Graph - Student visa cancellations across all cancellation powers – past seven financial years

Further Information