Kaur v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

This matter concerned an application for review by an Indian national, the applicant, of a decision by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs to cancel her visa. The applicant had initially been granted a visa after being sponsored and nominated by Sumit Enterprises Pty Ltd. However, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection was later notified that the applicant's employment with this sponsor had ended. The applicant's visa was subsequently cancelled under section 116(1)(b) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) on the grounds that she had breached a condition of her visa by ceasing employment with the sponsor for a period exceeding 90 consecutive days. The applicant sought review of this cancellation decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which affirmed the delegate's decision. The applicant then filed an application for review in the Federal Court.

The applicant raised four grounds of review, though one was not pressed and two were argued together. The central legal issues before the Court were whether the Tribunal erred in its decision to affirm the visa cancellation, particularly in relation to the applicant's employment status and the timing of a subsequent nomination application. The applicant also sought to have the Tribunal's decision delayed pending the outcome of a new nomination application lodged by Bawa Sahib Pty Ltd.

Blake J dismissed the application for review. The Court reasoned that the applicant had indeed breached the condition of her visa by ceasing employment with the original sponsor for more than 90 days. The Court found no error in the Tribunal's decision to refuse to delay its determination pending the outcome of the new nomination application, as the cancellation decision was based on a past breach of visa conditions. The Court concluded that the Tribunal had correctly applied the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the associated regulations in affirming the delegate's decision to cancel the applicant's visa.