Gonzalez Eslava (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Visitor (Class FA) visa, Subclass 600, made by Ms. Gonzalez Eslava. Ms. Eslava was in Australia at the time of her application on 26 May 2020, but she did not hold a substantive visa, having instead applied while holding a Bridging A visa. The primary issue before the Tribunal was whether Ms. Eslava met the requirements of clause 600.223 of the Migration Regulations 1994 for the grant of the visa.

The Tribunal was required to determine if Ms. Eslava satisfied clause 600.223(2)(b), which mandates that an applicant who does not hold a substantive visa at the time of application must satisfy Schedule 3 criteria 3001, 3003, 3004, and 3005. Specifically, the Tribunal focused on criterion 3001, which requires the visa application to be lodged within 28 days of the "relevant day," defined as the last day the applicant held a substantive visa.

The Tribunal found that Ms. Eslava's last substantive visa, a Temporary Graduate visa (VC-485), expired on 13 March 2020. Her application for the Visitor visa was lodged on 26 May 2020, which was more than 28 days after the expiry of her substantive visa. While Ms. Eslava and another individual sought to explain this delay by referencing a series of events related to a prior, allegedly late-lodged student visa application, the Tribunal concluded that these circumstances did not establish that criterion 3001 was met.

Consequently, the Tribunal determined that Ms. Eslava failed to satisfy clause 600.223(2)(b) of the Migration Regulations. As this was a mandatory requirement for the grant of the visa, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant Ms. Eslava the Visitor (Class FA) visa.