Bhalla (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate), brought before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The applicant, Mr Bhalla, sought review of a decision to refuse his visa application. The central dispute revolved around the applicant's failure to meet the English language proficiency requirements stipulated for the visa.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant had satisfied clause 485.212 of the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause mandates that an application for the visa must be accompanied by evidence of having undertaken a specified language test within a prescribed period and achieving a specified score, or by evidence of holding a specified passport. The relevant instrument, IMMI 15/062, detailed these requirements.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not met the requirements of clause 485.212. The applicant's PTE Academic test result, undertaken on 21 March 2019, was lodged after the visa application on 17 March 2019 and therefore did not accompany the application as required. Furthermore, an earlier PTE test result from 23 February 2016 fell outside the 36-month period immediately preceding the visa application date. The Tribunal acknowledged the applicant's submission that he applied without migration advice and believed he had 28 days to upload documents, but emphasised that the critical issue was the temporal requirement that the test must have been undertaken within the 36 months prior to the application date.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa. The Tribunal noted that the applicant could make a direct request for Ministerial Intervention.