Eligibility Assessment
Review whether your circumstances may fit the in-country refugee pathway or another humanitarian category.
Refugee Category · Subclass 201
In-Country Special Humanitarian Visa Subclass 201
The In-Country Special Humanitarian Visa Subclass 201 is a permanent refugee-category pathway for certain people who remain in their home country despite facing persecution and have been unable to leave.
What “In-Country” Means
Although the name says “in-country,” it does not mean an application made from inside Australia. The visa forms part of Australia’s offshore Refugee and Humanitarian Program and is currently used mainly for Afghan Locally Engaged Employees who worked with the Australian Government in Afghanistan.
How Think Higher Consultants Can Help
Persecution Evidence
Identify the evidence needed to explain the risk, events and circumstances affecting you in your home country.
Afghan LEE Review
Review available Australian Government employment records and existing LEE certification where relevant.
Family Assessment
Check accompanying family members and whether split-family provisions may apply.
Application Support
Assist with the ImmiAccount application, supporting documents and responses to Home Affairs.
Could This Pathway Apply to You?
This visa is unusual because the applicant may still be living in the country where the persecution is occurring.
The standard pathway may be relevant where you:
- Are outside Australia
- Remain in your home country
- Are subject to persecution there
- Have been unable to leave
- Need permanent humanitarian resettlement
- Meet health, character and national-security requirements
Requirements
The exact assessment depends on the applicant’s circumstances, but the main issues include the following.
Persecution in the Home Country
The legislation provides a pathway where the applicant is subject to persecution in their home country and is living in that home country.
General financial hardship, unemployment or a preference to move to Australia does not by itself establish this requirement.
Outside Australia
Refugee-category applications are offshore applications. Home Affairs states that applicants must generally be outside Australia when applying and when the visa is granted.
Compelling Reasons
Establishing persecution is not the end of the assessment. Home Affairs must also be satisfied there are compelling reasons to give special consideration to permanent settlement in Australia, considering matters such as:
- Degree of persecution
- Connection with Australia
- Whether another suitable country can provide protection
- Australia’s capacity to provide permanent settlement
The proposed settlement must also be consistent with Australia’s humanitarian priorities and be appropriate for the applicant.
Health, Character and Security
Applicants must meet the applicable:
- Health requirements
- Character requirements
- National-security requirements
- Australian Values requirements, where applicable
Afghan Locally Engaged Employees
This is currently one of the most important uses of the pathway. Home Affairs says this subclass is mainly used for Afghan Locally Engaged Employees who worked with the Australian Government in Afghanistan.
Certified LEE applicants are also among the groups given priority in offshore humanitarian processing.
Is Afghan LEE Certification Still Open?
No new certification applications are being accepted. The Afghan LEE Program closed applications for certification on 30 November 2023. Agencies continue to deal with relevant applications that were submitted before that deadline.
Existing certification can still be important evidence in a humanitarian visa application, but certification itself is not a visa grant.
Applicants Still in Afghanistan
There are also practical processing difficulties.
Home Affairs currently states that if a person remains in Afghanistan and has not completed biometrics, the Department cannot process the visa while the person remains there. The Australian Government also says it cannot assist a person to leave Afghanistan.
What Evidence Matters?
For this pathway, the quality and relevance of the evidence matters more than creating a large generic document bundle.
Useful evidence may include:
- Passport & ID
- Persecution Evidence
- Personal Statement
- Threat Evidence
- Residence Evidence
- LEE Certification
- Employment Records
- Government Employment
- Family Documents
- Relationship Evidence
- Dependency Evidence
- Parental Consent
- Character Documents
- Health Checks
- Biometrics
The evidence should help Home Affairs understand who the applicant is, why they are at risk, why they remain in the country and why permanent resettlement is being sought.
Have Immediate Family Members Already Settled in Australia?
A separate split-family pathway may be relevant in some cases. A person who holds or previously held this humanitarian subclass may be able to propose an immediate family member where the required relationship:
- Existed when the proposer received their visa
- Was declared before the proposer’s visa grant
- Still exists
- Is proposed within 5 years of the original visa grant
One Application Can Be Assessed Across Different Humanitarian Visas
Applicants do not necessarily need to determine the final subclass themselves before Home Affairs assesses the case.
An offshore Refugee and Humanitarian application is considered across:
- Subclass 200Refugee
- Subclass 201In-country Special Humanitarian
- Subclass 202Global Special Humanitarian
- Subclass 203Emergency Rescue
- Subclass 204Woman at Risk
If the requirements of one of these subclasses are met, Home Affairs can grant the applicable visa.
This makes a proper pathway assessment important before the application and evidence are prepared.
How to Apply
Since 29 November 2025, Refugee and Humanitarian applications generally need to be lodged online through ImmiAccount, except for Community Support Program applications.
The general process is:
- Review humanitarian eligibility
- Prepare identity and supporting evidence
- Start an offshore humanitarian application in ImmiAccount
- Provide family information
- Upload the supporting documents
- Submit the application
- Respond to later requests for biometrics, health checks, interviews or additional evidence
The application is assessed across the five offshore humanitarian subclasses rather than as an isolated 201-only application.
Cost and Processing
Visa Cost
There is currently no visa application charge for Refugee category visas.
Government visa application chargeNo
Professional assistance, translations and other case-specific expenses are separate from the government visa application charge.
Processing Time
There is no reliable fixed timeframe. Home Affairs states that decisions may take many months or even years because demand for resettlement is substantially greater than the number of available visa places.
Timing can also depend on:
- Applicant location
- Humanitarian priority
- Identity verification
- Document availability
- Biometrics
- Health assessments
- Security checks
- Family circumstances
For this pathway, the applicant’s circumstances and priority are more meaningful than a single advertised average processing time.
If the Visa Is Granted
This is a permanent visa.
The holder can:
- Live permanently in Australia
- Work
- Study
- Access eligible settlement support
- Propose eligible family members
- Access Medicare subject to applicable enrolment rules
- Apply for Australian citizenship when eligible
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Subclass 200 and 201?
The main distinction is location.
Subclass 200 is primarily for refugee resettlement where the person has left their home country and is commonly associated with UNHCR referrals.
Subclass 201 is designed for people who are still living in the country where they face persecution and have been unable to leave.
What is the difference between Subclass 201 and 202?
The 201 pathway belongs to the Refugee category and focuses on persecution and humanitarian resettlement.
Subclass 202 is the Global Special Humanitarian visa and generally concerns people outside Australia and their home country who face substantial discrimination or human-rights abuses and have an eligible proposer in Australia.
Can family members be included?
Yes, eligible family members can potentially be included, subject to the applicable family-unit and humanitarian requirements.
Declare all family relationships correctly. Leaving someone out can create problems later, especially if you want to rely on split-family provisions.
Is a migration agent able to guarantee a humanitarian visa?
No, humanitarian visa decisions depend on the applicant’s individual circumstances, supporting evidence, government priorities and available program places. No migration agent can guarantee approval.
Subclass 201 Enquiry
Get Help With Your Humanitarian Application
Applications involving persecution, Afghan LEE history, family separation or difficulty obtaining identity and supporting documents can require careful assessment before lodgement.
Think Higher Consultants can review the available humanitarian pathway, identify the evidence that needs to be addressed and assist with preparation and management of the application.
Eligibility AssessmentPersecution EvidenceAfghan LEE ReviewFamily AssessmentApplication Support
Book a consultation with Think Higher Consultants to discuss your circumstances.