JOHAL (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal concerning a decision not to grant the applicant a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500. The applicant had failed to respond to a letter issued by the Tribunal under section 359(2) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and did not provide evidence of current enrolment in a registered course of study.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had satisfied the criteria for the grant of a Subclass 500 (Student) visa, specifically the requirement under clause 500.211 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) to be enrolled in a course of study at the time of the decision. The Tribunal was also required to consider the applicant's obligation to provide sufficient information to enable the Tribunal to establish the relevant facts.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the onus of proof is not strictly applicable in administrative decision-making, applicants bear the responsibility of supplying the necessary facts to satisfy the criteria. In this instance, the applicant had provided a Confirmation of Enrolment at the time of their initial application to the Department, but no recent evidence was presented to demonstrate continued enrolment in a "full-time registered course" as defined by the Regulations. Without this evidence, the Tribunal could not be satisfied that the primary criteria for the visa were met.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant the Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa.