Agius (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for review by a citizen of Malta concerning the refusal of a Visitor (Class FA) visa, subclass 600 (Visitor) in the tourist stream. The applicant had arrived in Australia on a working holiday visa and subsequently applied for the visitor visa. The delegate refused the visa on the grounds that the applicant did not satisfy clause 600.215 of Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth). The applicant sought review of this decision by the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied clause 600.215 of the Regulations. This clause requires that exceptional circumstances exist for the grant of the visa if its grant would result in the applicant being authorised to stay in Australia for a total period of more than 12 consecutive months, including periods spent on visitor visas, working holiday visas, or bridging visas. The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant's circumstances met this threshold for exceptionality.

The Tribunal found that the applicant did satisfy clause 600.215 of the Regulations. While the specific details of the exceptional circumstances are not elaborated upon in the provided text, the decision indicates that the Tribunal considered the information provided by the applicant, including submissions made at a telephone hearing. Based on this consideration, the Tribunal remitted the application for reconsideration with a direction that the applicant meets the criteria for the Subclass 600 visa, specifically clause 600.215.