Bhangu (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Bhangu against a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) which affirmed the refusal of his Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 572 (Vocational Education and Training Sector). The Federal Court had previously set aside an earlier AAT decision due to contradictory findings and remitted the matter to the AAT for redetermination. The applicant had initially applied for the visa in September 2013, which was refused in December 2013 on the grounds that he was neither a genuine student nor a genuine temporary entrant.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Mr Bhangu was a genuine student and a genuine temporary entrant, as required by the relevant visa criteria. The Tribunal was required to consider his study history and his knowledge of the proposed course of study, as well as any incentive he might have to remain in Australia.

The Tribunal noted that Mr Bhangu had failed to attend a hearing in 2014, leading to an affirmation of the original refusal. Following the Federal Court's remittal, the Tribunal had made several attempts to contact Mr Bhangu to confirm his preferred method of communication and to schedule a hearing, including sending an invitation, SMS reminders, and leaving voicemail messages. Despite these efforts, Mr Bhangu contacted the Tribunal only the day before the scheduled hearing, claiming he had not received the invitation and had no knowledge of the hearing, requesting a postponement. The Tribunal found that Mr Bhangu had not provided sufficient evidence to satisfy the delegate that he was a genuine student or a genuine temporary entrant.