CHOI (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Temporary Business Entry (Class UC) visa, subclass 457, by an applicant seeking to work as a Cook. The applicant's initial prospective sponsoring employer, Hui Lau Shan Healthy Dessert Pty Ltd, had its nomination application refused. Subsequently, the applicant secured a new sponsoring employer, Secret Kitchen Pty Ltd, which was approved as a standard business sponsor. The core dispute before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the requirements of paragraph 457.223(4)(a) of the Migration Regulations 1994, which pertains to the approval of a nomination for the visa.

The Tribunal was required to determine if a nomination of an occupation in relation to the applicant had been approved under section 140GB of the Migration Act 1958, if the nomination was made by a person who was a standard business sponsor at the time of approval, and if the approval of the nomination had not ceased in accordance with regulation 2.75. The applicant provided evidence that Secret Kitchen Pty Ltd had an approved nomination in his favour for the occupation of 'Cook' on 21 February 2017, and that Secret Kitchen Pty Ltd was an approved standard business sponsor from 13 April 2016 to 13 April 2021.

The Tribunal reasoned that the evidence established that a nomination had been approved under section 140GB of the Act, satisfying subparagraph 457.223(4)(a)(i). Furthermore, given the validity period of Secret Kitchen Pty Ltd's sponsorship, the Tribunal found that the nomination was made by a standard business sponsor at the time of its approval, fulfilling subparagraph 457.223(4)(a)(ii). The Tribunal also considered the conditions under which a nomination approval ceases, as outlined in regulation 2.75, and concluded that, based on the information before it, the nomination had not ceased.

Consequently, the Tribunal found that the applicant met the criteria specified in paragraph 457.223(4)(a) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations. The Tribunal remitted the application for reconsideration by the Minister, directing that the applicant meets these specific criteria.