Kaur (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the cancellation of a Subclass 500 (Student) visa held by the applicant, Ms Kaur. The dispute arose from the applicant's provision of allegedly bogus documents with her visa application, which led to the cancellation of her visa.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether, in light of all the relevant circumstances, the discretion to cancel the applicant's visa should be exercised. This involved assessing the applicant's conduct, the nature of the non-compliance, and any mitigating factors.

The Tribunal reasoned that while there was non-compliance as described in the notice under s 107 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), the exercise of discretion to cancel the visa was not warranted. The Tribunal noted that the applicant had provided genuine documents to her agent and relied on the agent without reviewing the application herself. Furthermore, the applicant was close to completing her course, her visa would have expired shortly in any event, and she intended to apply for another student visa or a partner visa with her Australian citizen partner. Taking these factors into account, the Tribunal concluded that the visa should not be cancelled.

The Tribunal set aside the decision under review and substituted a decision not to cancel the applicant’s Subclass 500 (Student) visa.