KALSI (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Kalsi, who held a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500. The dispute arose when the Department of Home Affairs cancelled Kalsi's visa, and Kalsi sought review of this decision before the Tribunal. The core of the matter concerned whether Kalsi had breached a condition of his visa, thereby providing grounds for its cancellation under section 116(1) of the Migration Act 1958.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Kalsi had complied with condition 8202 of Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if Kalsi had remained enrolled in a registered course of study as required by subclause 8202(2). If a breach of this condition was established, the Tribunal then had to consider whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa, weighing the grounds for cancellation against any mitigating factors.

The Tribunal found that Kalsi had breached condition 8202(2) because his enrolment in an Advanced Diploma of Business was cancelled on 12 February 2018, and he had not enrolled in any other registered course since that date. Despite Kalsi's assertions that he wished to study and had previously been a good student, the Tribunal noted that he had been in breach of his visa conditions for a substantial period. While acknowledging Kalsi had completed several prior courses and was employed part-time, the Tribunal concluded that the grounds for cancelling the visa outweighed the grounds for not cancelling it. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel Kalsi's visa.