BALEIRO PEREIRA CARLOS (Migration)

The applicant, Baleiro Pereira Carlos, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to refuse to grant him a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 572. The dispute centred on whether the applicant had demonstrated sufficient financial capacity to meet the requirements for the visa, specifically concerning the source of funds presented.

The primary legal issue before the Federal Circuit Court was whether the evidence of funds held by the applicant's brother-in-law constituted sufficient funds from an acceptable source for the purposes of the visa application. The court was required to consider the provisions of the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth) and relevant policy guidelines concerning financial capacity and the acceptability of financial support from third parties.

Her Honour Judge Mojsin found that the evidence presented, including bank statements and a letter from the brother-in-law, did not sufficiently demonstrate that the funds were genuinely available to the applicant or that the brother-in-law had the capacity to provide the claimed financial support. The court applied the principle that the onus is on the applicant to satisfy the decision-maker that they meet the visa criteria, including financial capacity, and that mere assertion of funds held by a third party is insufficient without corroborating evidence of the source and availability of those funds. The court noted that while support from family members is permissible, the genuineness and capacity of the supporter must be clearly established.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.