1515786 (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Subclass 886 visa. The applicant sought to challenge a decision that he did not meet the English language requirements for the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant possessed "competent English" as defined by the Migration Regulations 1994. This required the Tribunal to determine if the applicant had satisfied the criteria set out in regulation 1.15C, which included achieving a specified score in an English language test or holding a passport from a designated country.

The Tribunal reasoned that regulation 1.15C outlines two ways to demonstrate competent English: either by achieving a minimum score in an IELTS test or a specified alternative test, or by holding a passport from a country listed in IMMI 15/005. The applicant had provided evidence of undertaking multiple IELTS tests, but confirmed that none of the results to date demonstrated competent English. He indicated he expected to receive results from a further test on 18 February 2016 and intended to submit them by 4 March 2016. However, the Tribunal found that based on the evidence presented, the applicant had not met the required standard.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant the Subclass 886 visa, as he failed to satisfy the competent English language requirement.