Galib (Migration)

The applicant, Galib, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs to refuse his application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, subclass 485. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal had affirmed the refusal. The matter came before Mercer J of the Federal Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the applicant had satisfied the English language proficiency requirement for the visa. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the applicant's submission of a medical certificate, which included a statement about his English language ability, constituted a valid method of demonstrating this proficiency in the absence of a specified English language test taken within the 36 months prior to his application.

Mercer J reasoned that the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) and the relevant ministerial directions did not prescribe a medical certificate as a means of satisfying the English language proficiency requirement for this visa subclass. The regulations clearly stipulated that proficiency must be demonstrated through a specified test, and the applicant had not provided evidence of undertaking such a test within the required timeframe. The Court found that the medical certificate, while containing a statement about English language ability, did not fulfil the regulatory requirement for a formal assessment.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.