Asabi (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by the applicant against the cancellation of his Subclass 500 (Student) visa. The visa had been granted by the Department's post in Pretoria, South Africa, but an investigation revealed that departmental employees may have acted improperly in processing a cohort of student visas, including the applicant's. The applicant arrived in Australia after the visa was granted and subsequently received notice of the cancellation decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the ground for cancellation under section 116(1)(g) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) was established. This ground requires the Minister to be satisfied that there is a reasonable suspicion that the visa was obtained as a result of the fraudulent conduct of any person. If this ground was established, the Tribunal then had to consider whether, in the exercise of its discretion, the visa should be cancelled, taking into account all relevant circumstances.

The Tribunal found that the ground for cancellation was established. It was satisfied that the applicant's visa was among those granted as a result of the fraudulent conduct of locally engaged staff at the Pretoria post, who bypassed departmental procedures and accepted corrupt payments. While the applicant had maintained his studies and complied with visa conditions, and had a child with an Australian citizen, the Tribunal weighed these factors against the serious nature of the fraudulent conduct that led to the visa's grant. The Tribunal concluded that the circumstances as a whole warranted the cancellation of the visa.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's Subclass 500 (Student) visa.