Ali (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the decision to cancel the Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, Subclass 500 (Student) held by Mr. Ali. The applicant sought review of the delegate's decision to cancel his visa on the ground that he had failed to comply with condition 8202 of Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994, specifically by not being enrolled in a registered course.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr. Ali had breached condition 8202(2) of his visa, 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. The Tribunal was required to assess the evidence presented by Mr. Ali regarding his enrolment status and the reasons for his non-compliance, as well as the Department's Procedures Advice Manual concerning general visa cancellation powers.

The Tribunal found that Mr. Ali had not complied with condition 8202(2) because his Confirmation of Enrolment (COE) was cancelled by his education provider due to unpaid tuition fees. Mr. Ali admitted that he did not pay his tuition fees for the second half of 2017, leading to the cancellation of his COE. While Mr. Ali provided reasons for his inability to pay, including family difficulties and his father's financial strain due to divorce proceedings, the Tribunal was not satisfied that these circumstances excused the breach. The Tribunal noted that Mr. Ali was unable to clarify the exact subjects he attempted during 2016 and did not provide a statement of academic record from his education provider.

Having found a breach of the visa condition, the Tribunal considered its discretion to cancel the visa. It had regard to the applicant's circumstances, including his purpose for entering Australia, the length of his non-enrolment, and whether he had taken reasonable steps to rectify the situation. The Tribunal concluded that the decision to cancel Mr. Ali's visa should be affirmed.