1502716 (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the decision to cancel the visa of a citizen of India, who had been granted a Subclass 573 visa to study a Bachelor of Information Technology. The applicant arrived in Australia in September 2013 and his visa was due to expire in March 2017. The dispute centred on whether the applicant was a "genuine student" as required by section 116(1)(fa)(i) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).

The Tribunal was required to determine if the ground for cancellation under section 116(1)(fa)(i) of the Act was made out, specifically whether the applicant was, or was likely to be, a genuine student. The Tribunal also had to consider whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa, having regard to all relevant circumstances, including matters of government policy and prescribed matters under regulation 2.43 of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant was not a genuine student, citing his request to cancel his enrolment and seek a refund to return to India, despite having not commenced his course of study. The Tribunal noted that the applicant had only completed an English language course, which was a prerequisite to his degree. While acknowledging the financial hardship to the applicant's family and his compliance with other visa conditions, the Tribunal found his explanations for his lack of academic progress, including claims of depression and his mother's illness, to be vague and lacking in detail. The Tribunal concluded that there was no impediment to the applicant returning to India and that no international obligations would be breached by cancelling his visa.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's Subclass 573 visa.