Bajaj (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visas, Subclass 187, Direct Entry stream, made by Mrs. Parul Bajaj and her spouse. The primary issue before the Tribunal was whether Mrs. Bajaj met the English language requirements for the visa at the time of her application.

The Tribunal was required to determine if Mrs. Bajaj possessed "competent English" as defined by the Migration Regulations 1994. This definition requires an applicant to have undertaken a specified language test within three years immediately preceding the visa application and achieved a specified score, or to hold a specified passport. The relevant test scores for IELTS, OET, TOEFL iBT, and PTE Academic were outlined in IMMI 15/005.

The Tribunal found that Mrs. Bajaj had not undertaken a specified English language test in the three years prior to lodging her application on 23 May 2019. While she later provided evidence of an IELTS test and a PTE Academic test, these were undertaken after the application date and, in the case of the PTE Academic test, did not meet the required scores in all components. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that Mrs. Bajaj did not satisfy the English language criteria at the time of application. The Tribunal also considered whether to refer the matter to the Minister for Ministerial Intervention under s.351 of the Migration Act 1958, but found no unique or exceptional circumstances to warrant such a referral.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicants the Subclass 187 visas.