Lakhani (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Mr Lakhani, who sought review of a decision to refuse him a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa, Subclass 187, Direct Entry stream. The dispute centred on whether the nominated position remained available to Mr Lakhani, a requirement for the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if the nominated position, initially approved in 2015 for Mr Lakhani by Tandon Enterprises Pty Ltd, was still available to him at the time of the visa application assessment. This involved assessing whether the circumstances surrounding the nominator's deregistration and the applicant's subsequent employment history met the criteria under Clause 187.233 of the Migration Regulations.

The Tribunal reasoned that a key criterion for the Subclass 187 visa in the Direct Entry stream is that the nominated position must still be available to the applicant. Evidence indicated that the nominator, Tandon Enterprises Pty Ltd, was in the process of being deregistered by ASIC. Furthermore, Mr Lakhani's own account revealed that the original service station employment had ceased in late 2017, and while his employer indicated plans to establish a new business, this ultimately involved a different legal entity, requiring a new sponsorship application. The Tribunal concluded that the requirements for the visa had not been met.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant Mr Lakhani the Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa.