Chen (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Youbin Chen against the cancellation of his Subclass 500 (Student) visa. The visa was cancelled by a delegate of the Minister on 16 May 2018, on the basis that Mr Chen had provided incorrect answers in his visa application and submitted a bogus document, thereby contravening sections 101(b) and 103 of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Chen had indeed failed to comply with these provisions and, if so, whether the decision to cancel his visa should be affirmed.

The core legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Mr Chen had provided incorrect answers in his visa application and whether he had submitted a bogus document. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider the information provided by Mr Chen regarding his tertiary qualifications, namely a Bachelor of Commerce certificate from the University of Otago, which was used to satisfy the English language requirements for his student visa. The Tribunal also had to assess whether any mitigating factors, such as an effort to correct the information or the time elapsed since the non-compliance, warranted a decision not to cancel the visa.

The Tribunal found that Mr Chen had provided incorrect answers on his visa application by stating he had completed a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Otago, and had submitted a bogus document, being a certificate that could not be verified through the university's graduate database. Furthermore, the signatory of the certificate was found to have last held the relevant position at the university in 2008, indicating the document was likely counterfeit or altered. The Tribunal gave no weight to Mr Chen's assertion that someone else had arranged his visa application, nor to the time elapsed since the non-compliance, concluding that his deceptive behaviour posed a significant risk to the integrity of Australia's migration system.

Having determined that Mr Chen had contravened sections 101(b) and 103 of the *Migration Act 1958*, and having considered all prescribed matters under regulation 2.41 of the Regulations, the Tribunal concluded that the reasons for cancelling the visa outweighed any reasons not to. Accordingly, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel Mr Chen's Subclass 500 (Student) visa.