Hardeep Singh (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for judicial review of a decision by the Migration Review Tribunal (the Tribunal) to affirm the refusal of a Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme visa, specifically under the temporary residence transition stream. The applicant, Mr Hardeep Singh, was the subject of an approved position nomination.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for the visa, particularly clause 186.223, which requires that the position to which the application relates be the subject of an approved nomination that has not been withdrawn, that there is no adverse information known to the Department, that the position remains available to the applicant, and that the visa application was made within six months of the nomination's approval. A secondary issue concerned whether Mrs Rajinder Kaur Buttar, a member of the applicant's family unit, met the criteria under clause 186.311.

The Tribunal reasoned that the nomination application, lodged on 13 April 2017, was refused by the Department on 17 April 2018. While the nominator sought review, the Tribunal affirmed the refusal of the nomination application on 15 February 2021. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this development and invited comments, indicating that the affirmed refusal of the nomination would likely lead to the refusal of the visa application because the nomination was not approved as required by clause 186.223(2). The Tribunal also noted that this would impact the family member's eligibility under clause 186.311.

The Tribunal concluded that the decision under review should be affirmed.