Does your immigration permission match what you plan to do?

Before you start

This guide helps you prepare an accurate account for review. It does not determine whether you are compliant, have overstayed or may begin a particular activity.

1. Start with the permission you actually hold

Find the relevant document and any later decision affecting it. Read its category, conditions and dates. Keep a note of wording you do not understand rather than replacing it with what you remember being told.

Prepare a private index: document name, issuing authority, issue and expiry information where present, conditions to clarify, and any subsequent communication. You do not need to publish identity numbers or upload a passport to organise this index.

Distinguish what the document says from the conclusion you want checked. “My document names this employer” is an observation. “It covers a proposed new role” is a question until the actual permission and relevant rules have been examined.

2. Describe the activity in ordinary words

Write what you will actually do: tasks, location, organisation, duration and whether the arrangement is paid or unpaid. Do not rely only on the labels “visitor”, “volunteer”, “business trip” or “remote”. Those labels can hide the facts needed for an assessment.

If work is part of the plan, use the work overview to understand the distinctions being researched. If the question concerns study, read the study guide. Neither topic selection decides your case.

For a household, make a separate activity note for each person. One person's employment plan does not explain another person's study or work question. The accompanying-family guide is the relevant next reading for that distinction.

3. Identify the change rather than reusing an old answer

Ask what is different from the arrangement previously considered: employer, role, study institution, activity, intended period or travel plan. Keep the previous document and the new proposal side by side.

Changing visa status or conditions is an application question under section 10, not an automatic consequence of changing personal plans. The Act places restrictions on in-country changes, including for visitor and medical-treatment categories, with exceptions requiring separate examination. [B02A01] This guide does not decide whether an exception, judgment or later measure allows your application locally.

Get the place of application and effect on your current permission resolved before arranging travel or treating a new activity as authorised. The application-process guide helps separate those decisions from document collection.

4. Treat a pending application as a separate question

A change-of-status application does not itself confer the requested status under section 10(8). [B02A01] But it would also be wrong to ignore a specific concession or other authority that may apply to an individual case.

Directive 7 of 2026 contains temporary measures for defined pending waiver, long-term visa and appeal categories. It includes conditions about lawful admission and verifiable VFS receipts, limits activities for the specified visa/appeal groups to the current visa conditions, and says the concessions cease on receipt of the outcome. [B02A03] A receipt alone is therefore not a complete answer to which measure applies or what activity is allowed.

The directive also expressly excludes pending permanent-residence applications from those temporary measures. [B02A03] If that is your pending process, use the residence overview and have the separate basis for your current stay examined.

For your review, record what was applied for, when and how it was submitted, what evidence exists, whether an outcome has arrived, and the exact authority someone proposes relying on. Avoid using another person's experience as proof that you have the same position.

5. Plan from the applicable rule, not a universal countdown

Regulation 9 contains advance-submission rules for extension and change applications, with different provisions and exceptions. [B02A02] Do not use this page as a personal deadline calculator. Establish the applicable category, rule and any later measure early; a reminder set only for the printed expiry date may miss an earlier preparation or submission requirement.

Keep application timing, travel and permission to undertake an activity as separate questions. Read processing times for planning uncertainty, rather than using a published target as authority to remain or work.

Fictional example: an unpaid activity still needs a clear description

A person visiting family is asked to help a local business with a weekly operational task, without payment. They write down the actual task and proposed schedule and ask for their permission and the activity to be reviewed before agreeing. They do not assume that “unpaid” answers the immigration question. This fictional example does not decide whether that activity is permitted or identify a visa route.

A short personal review note

• The activity I want reviewed is: ___
• My current document says: ___
• The proposed change is: ___
• An application or later decision relevant to the question is: ___
• The exact uncertainty I need resolved is: ___

Keep the full supporting documents in an appropriate private channel. A first conversation can describe the issue without attaching them to a general message.

Questions people ask

Does an unexpired visa allow every activity?

No. Its conditions need to be considered alongside the actual activity. [B02A01] The date alone is not an individual assessment.

Can I assume a pending application allows the new activity?

No. Identify the existing permission and any exact applicable interim authority. The requested status and a process receipt are different things. [B02A01, B02A03]

What if I have already changed activities or a date has passed?

General reading cannot determine your present position or remedy. Prepare the actual chronology and obtain appropriate individual attention. This site does not calculate overstay, promise an urgent response or recommend travel as a remedy.

Will this checklist produce a legal conclusion?

No. It produces a clearer account for the person reviewing your circumstances. It neither awards a compliance score nor replaces that review.

Prepare a precise next question

Use prepare your first immigration conversation to turn your review note into a focused question. For an employer's continuing duties, use the separate employer compliance guide.

Official sources for this guide

These official pages are research starting points. Read the geographical scope and current notices before relying on them. No individual determination is made by this information.

• B02A01 — official primary source

  Research checked 17 October 2026. Read the exact notice, date and receiving-channel scope with later instruments. Confirm individual applicability before relying on this information.

• B02A02 — official primary source

  Research checked 17 October 2026. Read the exact notice, date and receiving-channel scope with later instruments. Confirm individual applicability before relying on this information.

• B02A03 — official primary source

  Research checked 17 October 2026. Read the exact notice, date and receiving-channel scope with later instruments. Confirm individual applicability before relying on this information.