Chandio (Migration)

This matter concerned the review of a decision to cancel the Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500, held by the applicant. The applicant's visa was cancelled on the grounds that he had breached condition 8202 of Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994, specifically by ceasing enrolment in a registered course of study. The applicant submitted that his visa should not have been cancelled, citing family medical issues as a reason for a gap in his enrolment.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant had breached condition 8202 of his visa. This condition mandates that a student visa holder must be enrolled in a registered course and maintain satisfactory course progress and attendance. The Tribunal also had to consider whether, having found a breach, it should exercise its discretion to cancel the visa, taking into account the circumstances of the case.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not complied with condition 8202(2) as he was not enrolled in a registered course for a substantial period between 10 April 2017 and 14 March 2018. While the applicant provided evidence of family medical issues and a subsequent re-enrolment, the Tribunal considered the gap in enrolment to be significant. The Tribunal noted that the applicant had returned to Pakistan and stated he had nothing to do in Australia during this period. Despite accepting that the applicant wished to return to Australia to study, the Tribunal concluded that he had not demonstrated a compelling need to do so, and therefore, the discretion to cancel the visa was affirmed.