Chaudhary (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of Mr. Chaudhary and his family regarding their application for Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visas, specifically under the Subclass 187 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme, Direct Entry stream. The primary dispute centred on whether the applicants met the criteria for the grant of these visas, particularly concerning the nomination of a Cook position.

The legal issues before the Tribunal included whether the nominated position met the requirements of clause 187.233 of the Migration Regulations 1994, which mandates an approved nomination for a position in regional Australia. This clause requires that the nominator be the prospective employer, that the nomination has been approved and not withdrawn, that there is no adverse information known to Immigration concerning the nominator or associated persons, that the position remains available, and that the visa application was lodged within six months of the nomination's approval. Additionally, the Tribunal had to determine if the secondary applicants (claimed as spouse and son) were members of the family unit of a primary applicant who satisfied the visa grant criteria.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the crucial requirement of an approved nomination. It noted that while the applicants had provided evidence that the prospective employer was the nominator and that the position was still available, the nomination itself had been refused in a related AAT case. The Tribunal informed the applicant that without an approved nomination, the criteria under cl.187.233(3) would not be met, leading to the likely refusal of the visa applications. Furthermore, the Tribunal found that the secondary applicants did not satisfy cl.187.311 as they were not members of the family unit of a person who had met the primary criteria for the visa.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visas to the applicants.