Jara Chocano (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Jara Chocano, who sought review of a decision not to grant her a Subclass 500 (Student) visa. The primary issue before the Tribunal was whether Ms. Chocano satisfied the criteria for the visa, specifically clause 500.311 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations, which pertains to members of the family unit of a primary student visa holder.

The Tribunal was required to determine if Ms. Chocano met the conditions outlined in clause 500.311, which requires an applicant to be a member of the family unit of a primary person who holds a student visa and has satisfied the primary criteria for that visa. This clause further specifies that the applicant must have become a member of the family unit before the primary person's visa was granted and been included in the primary person's application, or become a member of the family unit after the primary person's visa was granted but before the applicant's own application was made. The Tribunal also considered the requirements of regulation 2.07AF regarding the inclusion of family members in visa applications.

During the hearing, the Tribunal presented evidence of the movement records for both Ms. Chocano and the primary person, her father. This evidence indicated that the primary person was no longer the holder of a Student visa but was instead on a Bridging visa B, granted on 18 March 2020. The Tribunal explained the relevance of this information to Ms. Chocano, who was also on a Bridging visa B. Ms. Chocano was given the opportunity to comment on this information, which she did at the hearing, acknowledging that the primary person was no longer a student visa holder.

Based on the evidence presented and Ms. Chocano's comments, the Tribunal concluded that the criteria for a Subclass 500 (Student) visa were not met. As Ms. Chocano did not claim to meet the criteria for any other visa class, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.