Keng Seng (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Cth) considered the case of Keng Seng, an applicant for a Subclass 155 (Five Year Resident Return) visa. The dispute concerned whether the Tribunal had jurisdiction to review the delegate's decision regarding the visa application.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it possessed jurisdiction to hear the applicant's review application. This question hinged on whether the applicant was located within the "migration zone" at the time the delegate made their decision and at the time the application for review was lodged.

The Tribunal found that the applicant was not in the migration zone at either of these critical junctures. Applying the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), the Tribunal determined that an application for review under section 347 of the Act is only properly made if the applicant is within the migration zone at the time of the application. Consequently, as the applicant failed to meet this jurisdictional prerequisite, the Tribunal concluded it lacked the power to consider the merits of the review. The Tribunal therefore held that it did not have jurisdiction in this matter.