GIBI FRANKLIN (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by GIBI FRANKLIN (the applicant) against a decision of the Tribunal to affirm the refusal of her application for a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa, Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme), Direct Entry stream. The core of the dispute was whether the applicant remained the subject of an approved nomination for a position, as required by the relevant migration regulations.

The legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the requirements of clause 187.233 of the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause mandates that for applicants in the Direct Entry stream, the position to which the application relates must be the subject of an approved nomination that has not been subsequently withdrawn. The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant had provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that she was the subject of such an approved and un-withdrawn nomination.

The Tribunal reasoned that a critical criterion for the grant of the visa is that the relevant nomination has not been withdrawn. It noted that the nomination in this case had been withdrawn and was no longer available to the applicant. Despite submissions made by the applicant regarding personal circumstances and issues with a previous representative, no evidence was presented to establish that she was the subject of an approved nomination. Consequently, the Tribunal found that clause 187.233 was not met. As the primary applicant did not satisfy this criterion, the Tribunal also found that the secondary applicants did not satisfy clause 187.311. The Tribunal affirmed the decisions not to grant the applicants the visas.