1614325 (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa, Subclass 187, under the Direct Entry scheme. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the English language proficiency requirements stipulated in clause 187.232 of the Migration Regulations.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if the applicant satisfied the competent English language requirement for the Subclass 187 visa under the Direct Entry stream. This involved assessing whether the applicant had either achieved a specified score in a recognised English language test within the three years preceding the application, held a specified passport, or belonged to a class of persons exempted by a legislative instrument.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant, at the time of application, did not meet the definition of having competent English as defined in regulation 1.15C. While the applicant submitted evidence of tertiary education in English and an IELTS test, the IELTS results did not meet the required score in each component. Furthermore, the applicant did not hold a passport specified in the relevant legislative instrument, nor was he part of any exempt class. Consequently, the Tribunal found that clause 187.232 was not satisfied. As the applicant had only sought to satisfy the criteria for the Direct Entry stream and had failed to meet these requirements, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.