Kuldeep (Migration)

This matter concerned the review of a decision to cancel the Subclass 500 (Student) visa held by the applicant, Mr. Kuldeep. The dispute arose because the applicant had not been enrolled in a full-time registered course of study for approximately 15 months, from December 2018. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered whether the applicant had breached condition 8202 of the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth) and, if so, whether the cancellation of his visa was the appropriate course of action.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had complied with condition 8202 of his student visa. This condition requires a student visa holder to be enrolled in a full-time registered course and to maintain that enrolment in a course that leads to a qualification at the same or a higher level than the one for which the visa was granted. The Tribunal also had to consider whether, having found a breach, it should exercise its discretion to cancel the visa.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not disputed the fact that he had not been enrolled in a full-time registered course since December 2018. While the applicant raised reasons for this, including illness and a desire to change his enrolment to a different city, the Tribunal noted the lack of medical evidence to support his claims of illness. Furthermore, the Tribunal considered that the failure to maintain enrolment was within the applicant's control, and his stated intentions for future study did not outweigh the established breach of his visa conditions. The Tribunal concluded that the grounds for cancellation under s 116(1) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) were met.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to cancel the applicant's visa.