Khandpur (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Khandpur regarding a decision related to his Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500. The central dispute revolved around whether Mr Khandpur was enrolled in a registered course of study as required by the relevant migration regulations. The decision was made by Mireya Hyland, a Member of the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if Mr Khandpur met the criteria stipulated in clause 500.211 of the Regulations, which mandates that an applicant must be enrolled in a course of study at the time of the decision. This required the Tribunal to interpret the definitions of "course of study" and "registered course" within the Regulations and consider the evidentiary weight of records from the Provider Registration and International Student Management System (PRISMS).

The Tribunal reasoned that a "course of study" must be a "full-time registered course," and a "registered course" is one provided by an institution registered under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (Cth) to offer courses to overseas students. The Tribunal accepted that a PRISMS search provides reliable evidence of enrolment in such a course. A PRISMS search conducted by the Tribunal on 26 June 2023 confirmed that Mr Khandpur had been enrolled in and studying a Diploma of Hospitality Management since 5 June 2023, with a completion date of 1 December 2023. Based on this evidence, the Tribunal concluded that Mr Khandpur met the criteria under clause 500.211.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the applications for the Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visas to the Minister for reconsideration, with a direction that Mr Khandpur satisfied the criteria under clause 500.211 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations. The Minister was to consider the remaining criteria for the subclass 500 visa.