Ichinkhorloo (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an appeal by an applicant concerning the refusal of a Subclass 500 (Student) visa. The AAT was tasked with determining whether the applicant met the criteria for a genuine temporary entrant, as stipulated by the Migration Regulations 1994.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant genuinely intended to stay in Australia temporarily, as required by clause 500.212(a) of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations. This assessment involved considering the applicant's circumstances in their home country and in Australia, their immigration history, and any other relevant matters, in accordance with Direction No. 69 issued under section 499 of the Migration Act 1958.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had been in Australia since 31 July 2015 and proposed to extend their stay until at least 31 July 2020 to study a course that did not demonstrably add significant value to their future career prospects. This prolonged period in Australia, coupled with a history of changing from higher-level to lower-level courses, raised concerns that the applicant was using the student visa program to maintain ongoing residence rather than for genuine study purposes. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant's circumstances did not support an intention to remain in Australia temporarily, and therefore, the applicant did not satisfy the genuine temporary entrant criterion.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicants Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visas. As the primary applicant failed to meet the criteria, the dependant applicant also did not satisfy the relevant criteria for a family member.