Fan (Migration)

This matter concerned a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa, Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme), Direct Entry stream. The applicant sought review of a decision concerning the approval of a nomination for a position. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the nomination had been approved, a prerequisite for the visa application.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the requirements of clause 187.233 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause mandates, among other things, that the position to which the visa application relates must be the subject of an approved nomination, that the nominator must be the intended employer, and that the nomination must not have been withdrawn and no adverse information should be known to the Department.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the employer's nomination application was initially refused by a delegate, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) had subsequently set aside that decision and substituted its own decision approving the appointment for the position of Massage Therapist. The Tribunal was satisfied, based on the evidence before it, that the approved position was the same as that which was the subject of the relevant nomination application and the visa application declaration. Consequently, the Tribunal found that the applicant met the requirements of clause 187.233.

The Tribunal remitted the visa applications for reconsideration by the Minister, with the direction that the applicant satisfies the criteria specified in clause 187.233 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.