Kato (Migration)

This matter concerned a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa, Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme), Direct Entry stream, for a Retail Manager (General). The applicant sought review of a decision to refuse the visa, with the primary dispute revolving around the approval of the nomination for the position. The decision was made by a Tribunal Member, Peter Emmerton.

The legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the nomination for the position had been approved, as required by clause 187.233 of the relevant regulations. This clause outlines several criteria, including that the nominated position must be located in regional Australia, that the nominator must be the prospective employer, that the nomination must have been approved and not withdrawn, that there must be no adverse information known to Immigration concerning the nominator or associated persons, that the position must remain available, and that the visa application must be lodged within six months of the nomination's approval.

The Tribunal found that the nomination application, lodged on 7 March 2017, met the requirements of clause 187.233. Specifically, the Tribunal was satisfied that the approved position was the same as that nominated and declared in the visa application. It also found that the nominator was the prospective employer and that, in light of the Tribunal's own approval of the appointment under regulation 5.19(4), the visa applicant now met the requirements of clause 187.233(3).

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the visa application to the Minister for reconsideration, with a direction that the applicant met the criteria specified in clause 187.233 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.