How do I know if I was refused an Australian visa 15 years ago?

Upvote:5

You could file a FOI request which would take a while.

Ultimately in this case you should weigh the risks and make your own determination. Many countries have an outright ban for a number of years if you provide false information to immigration in order to obtain a travel benefit. For the USA it is a permanent bar, for the UK it is a ten year bar and for Australia apparently 3 years.

For Australia

According to new laws, anyone who submits fraudulent information with a visa application will face harsher penalties, including being banned from entering Australia for up to three years. An existing visa will also be cancelled if fraudulent information was found to be involved.

Also

Certain cancellations can result in even more severe penalties, and it’s possible that you could be permanently banned from Australia (although these situations are rare and are generally the result of a serious crime).

Immigration rules can be very harsh and sometimes appear arbitrary with offenders getting heavily and disproportionately punished. It is best to err on the side of caution and provide a hint that you previously had an indeterminate immigration snafu, particularly when you have a strong profile. Just attach a small explanation. Basically you have more to lose than gain if they find out and choose to view it as fraudulent. In your favor, you were a minor at the time.

Upvote:6

I would suggest you reply "Application 15 years ago, result unknown" or something like that, and put a short explanation, similar to that in your question, in the 'other comments' box at the end. As you say, bureaucracies really dislike people lying to them, but nobody would expect you to recall these details, particularly as you were a minor at the time, And if the officials do want to find out the result (which I would think unlikely), they can always go back to their own archives.

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