Avinash (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by an applicant for a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa, Subclass 187, Direct Entry stream. The applicant sought to have affirmed a decision that affirmed the refusal of his visa application. The core of the dispute revolved around the availability of the nominated position and the validity of the nomination itself.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the nominated position was still available to the applicant, as mandated by clause 187.233 of the Migration Regulations. This clause requires that the position be the subject of an approved nomination, located in regional Australia, and crucially, that the position remains available to the applicant at the time of the application. The Tribunal also considered whether the applicant could rely on a new nomination from his current employer, rather than the original nomination.

The Tribunal reasoned that the original nominator, Gleam Accounting Pty Ltd, had been deregistered prior to the visa application lodgement, rendering the nomination invalid. While the Tribunal accepted the applicant's genuine belief that he was applying for a visa, it found that the nominated position was not available to him due to the deregistration of the nominator. The Tribunal clarified that it could only consider the nomination made at the time of the visa application and could not consider a subsequent nomination from the applicant's current employer, citing precedent that established the nomination must be made at the time of the visa application.

Consequently, as the applicant failed to satisfy the requirements for the Subclass 187 visa in the Direct Entry stream, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.