Candar (Migration)

The applicant sought review of a decision concerning a subclass 155 (Five Year Resident Return) visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) determined that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the application because the prescribed fee had not been paid. The applicant had lodged the application form without payment, and despite being notified by the Tribunal on two occasions of the requirement to pay the fee within the prescribed period, no payment was made, nor was any request for fee reduction submitted.

The central legal issue before the AAT was whether it had jurisdiction to proceed with the review application. This depended on whether the application for review was validly made, which in turn required compliance with the prescribed procedural requirements, specifically the payment of the application fee.

The AAT reasoned that the failure to pay the prescribed fee, after being duly notified of this requirement, rendered the application invalid. As a consequence of the invalid application, the Tribunal concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to make any determination on the merits of the visa application. The Member cited the lack of payment and the absence of any request for fee reduction as the basis for this jurisdictional finding.

The Tribunal ordered that it does not have jurisdiction in this matter.