1607499 (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of multiple applicants who sought review of a decision concerning their applications for a Subclass 808 Confirmatory (Residence) visa. The core dispute revolved around whether the applicants met the eligibility criteria for this visa subclass at the time of their application.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicants satisfied clause 808.211 of the Migration Regulations. This clause outlines the essential criteria for a Subclass 808 visa, specifying that an applicant must, at the time of application, hold one of several prescribed visas, including a Resident Return (Temporary) (Class TP) visa, an Emergency (Temporary) (Class TI) visa, a Border (Temporary) (Class TA) visa, or a Class 301 entry permit or visa granted under the Migration (1993) Regulations.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicants failed to meet the essential requirement of clause 808.211 because they did not hold any of the prescribed visas at the time they lodged their applications. The evidence confirmed that the applicants were not holders of any of the specified visa classes. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the original decision to refuse the visas. The applicants also requested that the Tribunal refer their case to the Minister for consideration under section 351 of the Migration Act, citing unique and exceptional circumstances due to alleged fraud by their former migration agent. However, the Tribunal concluded that these circumstances did not appear to fall within the Minister's guidelines for intervention and proceeded to make its decision without further delay.