Ganavarapu (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Mr. Ganavarapu, who sought review of a decision not to grant him a Subclass 500 (Student) visa. The central dispute concerned whether Mr. Ganavarapu met the primary criteria for this visa subclass, specifically the requirement of being enrolled in a registered course of study.

The legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr. Ganavarapu satisfied clause 500.211 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994, which mandates that an applicant must be enrolled in a full-time registered course of study at the time of the decision. The Tribunal also considered, but did not need to determine, the applicant's genuine temporary entrant status.

The Tribunal reasoned that clause 500.211 required confirmation of enrolment in a registered course, not merely a letter of offer. Mr. Ganavarapu presented a letter of offer for an Advanced Diploma of Business dated 26 September 2018 but acknowledged that he was not currently enrolled in a course in Australia and did not possess a certificate of enrolment. Consequently, the Tribunal found that clause 500.211 was not met. As this was a primary criterion for the Subclass 500 visa, and the applicant did not claim to meet the criteria for a Subclass 590 (Student Guardian) visa, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.