EL YOUSSEF (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant whose Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 573, was cancelled. The dispute centred on whether the applicant had breached a condition of their visa, leading to the cancellation decision.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant had complied with condition 8202 of the Migration Regulations 1994, specifically whether they remained enrolled in a registered course of study. If a breach was found, the Tribunal then had to consider whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa, taking into account the applicant's circumstances and relevant government policy.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not been enrolled in a registered course since July 2015, thereby breaching condition 8202(2) of their visa. Despite the applicant's claims of hardship, including emotional distress and uncertainty about their future upon return to their home country, the Tribunal gave significant weight to the fact that the applicant had been in Australia for approximately four years without completing any courses. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant's prolonged period of non-enrolment and lack of academic progress outweighed the claimed hardship, and therefore affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's visa.