Al Hamdo (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Al Hamdo, an applicant for a Higher Education Sector (Class TU) visa, subclass 573 (Student) (Temporary). The dispute concerned the cancellation of the applicant's visa by the Department of Home Affairs due to alleged breaches of visa conditions. The Tribunal, presided over by Michael Biviano, was tasked with reviewing this cancellation decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had breached Condition 8202 of Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the applicant was enrolled in a registered course as required by the condition, and if not, whether the circumstances warranted the cancellation of his visa. The applicant's visa was cancelled on the basis that he was not enrolled in a registered course between 7 February 2018 and 3 December 2018.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had indeed breached Condition 8202(2) by failing to be enrolled in a registered course for a period of nearly 10 months. While acknowledging some of the applicant's explanations, such as the loss of accreditation for a course he intended to study and a period of depression, the Tribunal found these insufficient to excuse the prolonged non-enrolment. The Tribunal considered the expired passport to be the applicant's responsibility, noting an extraordinary delay in addressing this issue. Furthermore, the medical certificate provided regarding depression was deemed general and inconclusive, and the timing of its alleged flare-up did not fully align with the period of non-enrolment. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant's circumstances did not provide a compelling reason to set aside the cancellation decision.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's Class TU visa.