Arafat (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visas, Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme), Direct Entry stream, by Mr Arafat and his dependants. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), constituted by Member Katie Malyon, was required to determine whether the applicants met the criteria for the visa, specifically in relation to an approved nomination.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether there was an approved nomination for the position of Cook, which was the subject of Mr Arafat's visa application. Clause 187.233 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994, as applicable, stipulated that the position must be the subject of an approved nomination in the Direct Entry stream, located in regional Australia. Crucially, this criterion required that the nomination must have been approved and not subsequently withdrawn.

The Tribunal reasoned that the Trustee's nomination application for the position of Cook had been withdrawn from the Department. As a consequence, the nomination had not been approved, and therefore, Mr Arafat did not meet the criteria set out in cl.187.233(3) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations. Since Mr Arafat had only sought to satisfy the criteria for the Direct Entry stream and had failed to meet the primary requirements, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visas. The Tribunal noted that as Mr Arafat did not satisfy the primary criteria, his dependants could not satisfy the secondary criteria.