Cordeiro Kojo (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa (Subclass 500) made by Mr Kojo. The dispute arose when the applicant's passport expired between the time of the visa application and the delegate's decision. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine whether the applicant met the relevant visa requirements, specifically Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4021, in light of the expired passport and subsequently provided evidence of a new passport.

The Tribunal considered whether the applicant satisfied PIC 4021 for the purposes of clause 500.217 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations. The core of the legal issue was how to treat the applicant's passport status when it had expired after the application was lodged but before the decision was made, and whether the provision of a new passport to the Tribunal constituted sufficient evidence to satisfy the criterion.

The Tribunal reasoned that, based on the information before it, the applicant met the requirements of PIC 4021 at the time of the Tribunal's decision. This conclusion was reached despite the passport having expired during the processing of the application, as evidence of a current passport had been presented to the Tribunal. Consequently, the Tribunal determined that the matter should be remitted to the Department for reconsideration. The Tribunal remitted the decision not to grant the visa for reconsideration, with a direction that the applicant met PIC 4021 for the purposes of clause 500.217.