1935735 (Migration)

The applicant, a former student visa holder, sought judicial review of a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) which affirmed the refusal of their application for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500. The primary dispute concerned whether the applicant met the 'genuine temporary entrant' (GTE) requirement for the visa. The decision was made by Justice Judd in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Tribunal erred in law by affirming the delegate's decision to refuse the visa. Specifically, the Court had to consider whether the Tribunal's finding that the applicant was not a genuine temporary entrant was affected by an error of law, particularly in light of the applicant's lack of current enrolment at the time of the decision and their failure to respond to the Tribunal's invitation to provide comments.

Justice Judd reasoned that the Tribunal was entitled to consider the applicant's lack of current enrolment as a significant factor in assessing whether they were a genuine temporary entrant. The Tribunal had invited the applicant to comment on this and other matters, but no response was received. In the absence of any explanation or evidence to the contrary, the Tribunal was justified in concluding that the applicant had not satisfied the GTE requirement. The Court found no error of law in the Tribunal's approach, noting that the onus was on the applicant to satisfy the Tribunal of their genuine temporary entrant status.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.