Gurjot Singh (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by Gurjot Singh against the cancellation of his Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 573 (Higher Education Sector). The cancellation was based on the ground that Mr Singh had failed to comply with a condition of his visa, specifically condition 8516, which requires a visa holder to continue to satisfy the criteria for the grant of their visa. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the ground for cancellation existed and, if so, whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa.

The primary legal issue was whether Mr Singh had failed to meet the criteria for his subclass 573 visa, thereby breaching condition 8516. This involved assessing whether he had continued to be enrolled in a course of study that met the requirements for a Higher Education (HE) course, as defined by the Migration Regulations 1994 and relevant ministerial instruments. The Tribunal also had to consider whether, having found a ground for cancellation, it should exercise its discretion to cancel the visa, taking into account all relevant circumstances.

The Tribunal found that the ground for cancellation existed because Mr Singh had not complied with condition 8516. He had initially enrolled in a Diploma of Business and a Bachelor of Business at Griffith University but dropped out of the diploma in October 2014, leading to the cancellation of his Bachelor of Business enrolment in September 2015. Subsequently, he enrolled in a series of vocational education and training (VET) courses, including a Certificate IV in Business, a Diploma of Management, and Commercial Cookery courses. The Tribunal was not satisfied that Mr Singh had a genuine intention to complete a Higher Education course, noting his prolonged engagement with VET courses and his explanation that these were intended to assist in his ultimate goal of opening a restaurant in India. The Tribunal concluded that the circumstances did not warrant the exercise of discretion to not cancel the visa.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel Mr Singh's visa.