Ahmed (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by an applicant, Mr Ahmed, against the cancellation of his Student (Temporary) (Class TU) Subclass 500 visa. The applicant's visa was cancelled on the grounds that he was not enrolled in a registered course and had not been so enrolled for a significant period. The applicant did not respond to the Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation (NOICC) and provided no evidence to the Department or the Tribunal regarding his circumstances.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had breached condition 8202 of the Migration Regulations 1994, which requires a student visa holder to be enrolled in a registered course and to maintain satisfactory course progress and attendance. If a breach was found, the Tribunal then had to consider whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa. The applicant conceded that he had not been enrolled in a full-time registered course since 19 April 2017.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had breached condition 8202 by failing to be enrolled in a registered course from 19 April 2017. While this ground did not mandate cancellation, the Tribunal considered whether to exercise its discretion. It noted that the applicant had not responded to the NOICC, had not provided any evidence of hardship, and had been living in Australia without studying or apparently working for nearly two and a half years. Although the applicant's initial purpose for travel was to study, the Tribunal gave substantial weight to the prolonged period of non-enrolment and the lack of engagement with the Department or the Tribunal.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's visa, concluding that the evidence suggested he did not intend to remain in Australia temporarily for the purpose of completing his studies.