Bangar (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) regarding the cancellation of a Subclass 573 Higher Education Sector visa held by the applicant, Mr. Bangar. The AAT was required to determine whether the grounds for cancellation existed and, if so, whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant was a "genuine student" as required by the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). This involved assessing the applicant's enrolment history, academic progress, and attendance records. The Tribunal also considered whether the applicant had breached conditions of his visa, specifically those relating to maintaining enrolment and satisfactory academic progress.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had a history of numerous course enrolments and cancellations, with many instances of non-commencement of studies or cancellation due to non-payment of fees. The evidence indicated that from August 2014 until the visa cancellation in July 2015, the applicant was not enrolled in any course of study, breaching visa conditions 8516 and 8202. Given this pattern of behaviour and the lack of genuine engagement with his studies, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not a genuine student and that the grounds for cancellation under s.116(1)(fa)(i) of the Act were met. The Tribunal then exercised its discretion to affirm the decision to cancel the visa, noting the applicant's lack of compelling need to remain in Australia for study and his non-compliance with visa conditions.