Domingues Madureira (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Domingues Madureira, an applicant whose Subclass 500 Student (Temporary) visa was cancelled. The dispute centred on whether the applicant had breached a condition of their visa, leading to the cancellation decision by the Department of Home Affairs.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if the applicant had complied with condition 8202 of Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994. Specifically, the Tribunal had to ascertain whether the applicant was enrolled in a registered course of study between 2 November 2017 and 1 August 2018, as required by the visa conditions. If a breach was found, the Tribunal then had to consider whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa, taking into account the circumstances presented by the applicant.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not complied with condition 8202(2) because their Provider Registration and International Student Management System (PRISMS) record indicated non-attendance and a lack of enrolment in a registered course during the specified period. The applicant's own written response to a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation (NOICC) confirmed this breach. While the applicant raised claims of hardship, including marital breakdown, mental health challenges, and familial pressure, and stated an intention to re-enrol, the Tribunal noted that the applicant had also secured new employment during the period of non-compliance. The Tribunal concluded that these mitigating factors did not outweigh the grounds for cancellation, and therefore, the discretion to cancel the visa should be exercised.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant’s Subclass TU-500 Student (Temporary) visa.