Alam (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered whether to affirm a decision to cancel the Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500, held by the applicant. The dispute arose because the applicant was alleged to have breached condition 8202 of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had contravened condition 8202(2)(b) of his visa, which requires a student to maintain enrolment in a registered course that, upon completion, will provide a qualification at the same or a higher Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level than the course for which the visa was granted. If a breach was found, the Tribunal also had to consider whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had breached condition 8202(2)(b). The applicant had been granted a visa to undertake a Bachelor's degree but subsequently enrolled in a Certificate IV in Marketing and Communication, which was at a significantly lower AQF level. Despite being given an opportunity to respond to this finding, the applicant declined. In considering the discretion to cancel the visa, the Tribunal noted the applicant's stated intention to complete his degree and return home, but also took into account his history of multiple course changes, cancellations of enrolment, and failure to maintain consistent study. The Tribunal concluded that the grounds for cancelling the visa outweighed the grounds for not cancelling it.

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