Ali (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate), made by Mr Ali. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) was required to determine whether Mr Ali met the criteria for the grant of this visa, specifically the Australian study requirement.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr Ali had satisfied the Australian study requirement within the six months immediately preceding the day he lodged his visa application. This requirement, as stipulated by clause 485.231 of the Migration Regulations 1994, mandates that an applicant must hold a specified qualification or qualifications, conferred by a specified educational institution, for which their study satisfied the Australian study requirement in the six months prior to the application date.

The Tribunal reasoned that to satisfy clause 485.231(3), Mr Ali's study for his qualification must have been completed within the six months immediately before his visa application. Mr Ali had applied for the visa on 27 February 2018. However, the evidence provided by the educational institution confirmed that his qualification was completed on 5 March 2018, which was after the date of his application. The Tribunal noted that there was no discretion available in relation to meeting the time of application criteria. Despite Mr Ali’s explanation that he rushed his application due to his student visa expiring the following day and his belief that passing his last unit was sufficient, the Tribunal found that the completion date of his qualification was a critical factor that he had not met.

Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that Mr Ali did not meet clause 485.231 and therefore did not satisfy the criteria for the grant of a Subclass 485 visa. The decision under review, which affirmed the refusal to grant the visa, was affirmed.