REVEALED: Sudanese immigrants are increasingly having their visas revoked on character grounds and are now among the top five nationalities for cancellations
- More Sudanese people are having visas cancelled through ministerial discretion
- In the last financial year they were in the top five but did not feature previously
- MP David Coleman says no tolerance for those who put Australians in danger
An increasing number of Sudanese immigrants are having their Australian visas cancelled through ministerial discretion, according to new figures.
Ministerial discretion was used 56 times to cancel a visa on character grounds in the last financial year, according to figures from Department of Home Affairs.
There have been eight visas cancelled in the three months to September 30.
Those figures showed people from Sudan were among the top five nationalities with the most visas cancelled by a minister, with fewer than five cancellations last year, according to The Australian.
An increasing number of Sudanese immigrants are having their Australian visas cancelled through ministerial discretion, according to new figures
Ministerial discretion was used 56 to cancel a visa on character grounds in the last financial year, according to figures from Department of Home Affairs
However, no Sudanese citizens had visa cancellations via ministerial discretion for the two previous financial years, 2015-16 and 2016-17.
New Zealanders and Brits lead the list, making the majority of those figures with at least 30 since July 2017.
Tonga and Lebanon were also among the top highest nationalities to have their visas cancelled under ministerial discretion.
Ministerial cancellations are different to mandatory cancellation of visas which involve a serious criminal record.
A statement released this week from Immigration Minister David Coleman said they have no tolerance for those who put Australians in danger
If a minister ‘reasonably suspects that the person does not pass the character test’ a visa may be cancelled as part of the the Migration Act.
A statement released this week from Immigration Minister David Coleman said they have no tolerance for those who put Australians in danger.
‘Foreign nationals who think they can flout our laws and harm Australian citizens should expect to have their visa cancelled.’
Tensions have been growing in Melbourne following a number of violent incidents involving African gangs over the past year.
Melbourne’s western suburbs were on high alert following a series of shop and restaurant robberies, assaults on customers and open-air fights (pictured are patrons being attacked at the B&D Kitchen in St Albans)
African Blood Drill Kill gang members, aged from 14 to 17, left a trail of destruction before Christmas.
On Christmas Eve, a 46-year-old man was hospitalised with cuts to his face after African youths allegedly attacked the Song Huong Vietnamese restaurant in St Albans.
The previous day, 20 youths armed with baseball bats threw tables and chairs at patrons outside B&D Kitchen next door.
On December 19, there was another attack in the area which led to an alleged juvenile gang member being charged with robbery and assault.
The Daily Mail has contacted the Department of Home Affairs for comment.