Gurung (Migration)

The applicant, Mr Gurung, sought judicial review of a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) affirming the refusal of his Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa (subclass 500). The primary dispute concerned whether the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia had jurisdiction to hear the application for review, given that Mr Gurung was outside the migration zone at the time he lodged his application for review with the AAT.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the applicant was entitled to apply for review of the AAT's decision under s 476 of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) when he was located outside the migration zone at the time of lodging his application for review with the AAT. This required the Court to consider the interpretation of "outside the migration zone" as it pertains to the applicant's standing to seek review.

Justice Russo applied the principles established in *Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs v Ozmen* and *Saeed v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs*, which confirm that a person must be within the migration zone at the time of lodging an application for review with the AAT to have standing under s 476 of the *Migration Act*. The Court found that Mr Gurung was not within the migration zone when he lodged his application for review with the AAT, and therefore, the Court lacked jurisdiction to hear his application.

Consequently, the application for judicial review was dismissed for want of jurisdiction.