Das (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by the applicant against a decision by a delegate to refuse to grant a Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa. The applicant had applied for the visa on 7 December 2017. The delegate refused the visa on 20 December 2017, finding that the applicant had not demonstrated the required English language proficiency. The applicant subsequently appeared before the Tribunal to present arguments and evidence, including English language test results and educational qualifications.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied clause 485.212 of the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause requires that an application for a Subclass 485 visa be accompanied by evidence of having undertaken a specified language test within a specified period and achieved a specified score, or by evidence of holding a specified type of passport. The Tribunal noted that the applicant did not meet the passport criterion, meaning the applicant had to satisfy the language test requirement.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's evidence, which included results from an IELTS test taken on 4 September 2014, an IELTS test taken on 9 December 2017, and a PTE Academic test taken on 21 August 2018. The applicant acknowledged that the 2014 test had expired by the time of his visa application. Crucially, the Tribunal found that none of the tests submitted were undertaken within the three years preceding the visa application date, as required by the relevant instrument, IMMI 15/062. The applicant admitted to miscalculating the validity period of his initial English language test. As the applicant provided no further evidence to support his claim, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision.