Amada (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision not to grant the applicant a Subclass 500 (Student) visa. The applicant sought to challenge the Tribunal's conclusion that they were not a genuine applicant for entry and stay as a student.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criteria for a Subclass 500 visa, specifically the requirement under clause 500.211(a) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations that the applicant be enrolled in a course of study at the time of the decision. A "course of study" was defined as a "full-time registered course," and a "registered course" was one provided by an institution registered to provide such courses to overseas students under the *Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000* (Cth).

The Tribunal considered the evidence from the PRISMS (Provider Registration and International Student Management System) database, which is maintained by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment and used by the Department of Home Affairs to verify student visa applications. The Tribunal accepted PRISMS as a reliable record of enrolments unless there was specific evidence to the contrary, which was not present in this case. The PRISMS records indicated that the applicant was not currently enrolled in a course of study and did not hold a current Confirmation of Enrolment. As the applicant had not provided any evidence to contradict this or responded to invitations to do so, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the criterion under clause 500.211(a) was met.

Consequently, the Tribunal found that the applicant did not meet the criteria for the grant of a Subclass 500 (Student) visa. As the applicant did not claim to meet the criteria for an alternative visa subclass, the Tribunal affirmed the original decision not to grant the visa.