Foong (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of Foong, an applicant for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the criteria for the visa, specifically concerning their enrolment status in a registered course of study.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied clause 500.211 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994, which requires an applicant to be enrolled in a registered course of study at the time of the decision. The Tribunal also considered the definition of "registered course" and the role of the Provider Registration and International Student Management System (PRISMS) in verifying enrolment.

The Tribunal reasoned that PRISMS, a computer system maintained by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment and used by the Department of Home Affairs, serves as a reliable record of overseas student enrolments. Unless there was specific evidence to the contrary, the Tribunal accepted PRISMS as evidence of enrolment. In this instance, the applicant had not provided evidence to contradict the information held in PRISMS, nor had they responded to an invitation under s 359(2) of the Migration Act 1958. Consequently, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant was enrolled in a registered course of study at the time of the decision, and therefore clause 500.211 was not met.

As the applicant did not claim to meet alternative visa criteria, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa.