Kenyeres (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Kenyeres against the cancellation of his Subclass 121 (Employer Nomination Scheme) visa. The visa had been granted based on an application that included false work history, a forged signature, and a fake employment contract. The applicant's skills assessment, crucial for the visa grant, was secured using this false and misleading information. The applicant had a history of employment, criminal, and migration issues in Europe, the USA, and Australia, and at the time of the decision under review, was in prison.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the cancellation of Mr Kenyeres' visa was justified. This involved determining the weight to be given to various factors, including the circumstances of the non-compliance, the applicant's claims of persecution, and the fact that the visa would not have been granted but for the provision of incorrect information and bogus documents. The Tribunal was required to consider whether the applicant's alleged motivation to escape a conspiracy by the Hungarian Government, and similar claims made in the USA, were relevant to the cancellation decision, particularly in light of previous judicial findings in the United States that rejected such claims.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant's claims of being set up by the Hungarian Government were not persuasive, especially given the findings of the US courts which had rejected similar asylum claims and found substantial evidence of criminal conduct. The Tribunal placed significant weight on the fact that the visa would not have been granted without the applicant's fraudulent submissions, specifically the false work experience that was essential for meeting the skills assessment requirements for the nominated occupation. The Tribunal found that the applicant's immigration history, including overstaying a visa in the USA and subsequent unsuccessful asylum claims, further supported the cancellation. The Tribunal concluded that the provision of incorrect information and bogus documents was a critical factor that strongly supported the cancellation of the visa.