GAGANDEEP SINGH (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Gagandeep Singh concerning his application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, specifically the Graduate Work stream. The primary dispute revolved around whether Mr. Singh had satisfied a crucial criterion for the visa, leading to the Tribunal's review of the delegate's decision to refuse the visa.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr. Singh met the requirements of clause 485.213 of the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause mandates that when an application for a Subclass 485 visa is made, it must be accompanied by evidence that the applicant, and any other person included in the application aged 16 or over, had applied for an Australian Federal Police (AFP) check within the 12 months immediately preceding the visa application date.

The Tribunal found that Mr. Singh applied for the visa on 14 August 2018. While he initially indicated in his application that he had applied for an AFP check within the preceding 12 months, evidence later emerged that the AFP check he initially referenced was not an AFP Complete Disclosure certificate. Subsequently, on 8 October 2018, more than seven weeks after his visa application, Mr. Singh applied for an AFP check, evidenced by a receipt dated that day. The AFP Complete Disclosure certificate he eventually provided related to this later application. Therefore, the Tribunal concluded that the application for the AFP check made on 8 October 2018 was not made within the 12 months immediately before the visa application date, meaning Mr. Singh failed to satisfy clause 485.213.

As Mr. Singh did not satisfy this essential criterion, the Tribunal determined that he did not meet the requirements for the grant of a Subclass 485 visa. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision not to grant the visa.