1909073 (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Bridging E (Class WE) visa, subclass 050 (Bridging (General)), before the Tribunal. The applicant sought to have the decision to affirm the cancellation of their visa reviewed. The Tribunal was required to consider whether the applicant met the criteria for the grant of a Bridging E visa, both at the time of application and at the time of the decision.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant satisfied the criteria under cl.050.211 and cl.050.212 of the Migration Regulations 1994 at the time of their Bridging E visa application, and whether they continued to satisfy these criteria under cl.050.221 at the time of the decision. Additionally, the Tribunal considered the requirement for an interview by an authorised officer under cl.050.222, and the exceptions to this requirement.

The Tribunal found that the applicant met cl.050.211 as they were an unlawful non-citizen and not an eligible non-citizen of a kind excluded by the regulations. Furthermore, the applicant satisfied cl.050.212(3) because they had lodged a valid application for a Protection (subclass 866) visa, which had not yet been finally determined due to ongoing review proceedings. The Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant continued to meet these criteria at the time of the decision, as they remained an unlawful non-citizen, detained by the Department, and their substantive visa application was still undetermined. The Tribunal also noted that the exceptions to the interview requirement under cl.050.222 were not applicable in this instance.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, concluding that the applicant met the relevant criteria for the grant of a Bridging E visa.