Agam (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa. The applicant, an Indian national, had been granted the visa to study a Bachelor of Commerce at Charles Darwin University. The cancellation was based on an alleged breach of condition 8202 of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had breached condition 8202, which requires a student visa holder to be enrolled in a registered course. If a breach was found, the Tribunal then had to consider whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa under section 116(1) of the Migration Act 1958.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had indeed breached condition 8202(2) because his Confirmation of Enrolment (COE) was cancelled by his education provider due to non-payment of tuition fees. The applicant admitted this fact during the hearing. In considering the exercise of discretion to cancel the visa, the Tribunal had regard to the applicant's circumstances, including his father's financial difficulties due to medical issues, the applicant's own difficulties with his course of study, and his subsequent enrolment in a different course. Despite these considerations, the Tribunal affirmed the cancellation decision.