CHEN (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a decision to refuse a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa, subclass 187, Direct Entry stream, for Ms. Fei Chen and secondary applicants. The nominator, Yiping Pty Ltd, sought to nominate Ms. Chen for the position of café or restaurant manager.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the nominated position met the requirements of clause 187.233 of the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause mandates that the nominated position must be located in regional Australia, be the subject of an approved nomination, and that the nominator must be the prospective employer. Further requirements include that the nomination must not have been withdrawn, there must be no adverse information known to the Department of Immigration, the position must remain available, and the visa application must be lodged within six months of the nomination's approval.

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the nomination. The delegate had found that the business, trading as 22nd End Restaurant, had not adequately outlined its operations and structure. Crucially, the delegate concluded that based on the provided material, the nominee was likely working as a chef and there was no evidence demonstrating a genuine need for a full-time restaurant manager in a business of that nature. The Tribunal noted that the nominator provided only ASIC and ABN extracts on appeal and that the applicant failed to attend the hearing to provide further evidence. As the primary applicant did not meet the visa criteria, the secondary applicants also failed to meet them.