2203688 (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking review of a decision to refuse a Bridging Visa E (Class WE) (Subclass 050). The applicant had a complex migration history, having arrived in Australia in August 2013 on a student visa. This visa was cancelled in June 2014 due to the applicant not being a genuine student, rendering them an unlawful non-citizen. Subsequently, the applicant lodged and then withdrew a protection visa application, and their associated bridging visa was cancelled in February 2021 because it had been granted in error while the applicant was in prison. The applicant also lodged and then withdrew a partner visa application, and was convicted in October 2019 of cultivating a large commercial quantity of cannabis, receiving a sentence of five years and six months imprisonment.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the criteria for a Bridging Visa E (Class WE) (Subclass 050) at the time of application and at the time of the decision, and whether the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant would abide by any conditions imposed on such a visa. The applicant had been granted a bridging visa on criminal detention grounds in March 2022, which ceased upon their release from custody. Following release, the applicant was located as an unlawful non-citizen and subsequently applied for the Bridging Visa E that is the subject of this review.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding that the applicant had been an unlawful non-citizen within Australia for a considerable period and that no valid substantive visa application was pending with the Department. Crucially, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant would abide by the conditions that would be imposed on a bridging visa if it were granted. The applicant's extensive criminal history and previous breaches of visa conditions led to this conclusion. The Tribunal noted that the applicant must satisfy one of the prescribed alternatives under clause 050.212(2)-(9) and continue to satisfy this criterion at the time of the decision, as per clause 050.221.