Dhakal (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Rabin Dhakal against the refusal of his Skilled Graduate Visa (Subclass 485). The original application was lodged in November 2011 and refused by the Department in April 2012. Mr Dhakal appealed this decision to the Migration Review Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Dhakal had provided false or misleading information in his visa application, specifically in relation to a skills assessment. The Tribunal also considered whether the delegate's decision to refuse the visa was correct, having regard to the provisions of Public Interest Criterion 4020 of the Migration Regulations 1994 and section 98 of the Migration Act 1958.

The Tribunal found that Mr Dhakal had provided a skills assessment reference number in his application, but the relevant assessing authority, TRA, confirmed they had no record of providing such an assessment to him. This led the Tribunal to conclude that Mr Dhakal had provided false and misleading information in relation to his visa application, thereby engaging PIC 4020. Although the Tribunal accepted Mr Dhakal's assertion that he did not receive the invitation to comment on adverse information, it affirmed that its role was to review the original refusal decision based on the evidence before it.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to refuse the visa.