Lam (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant whose Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 572, was cancelled by the Department of Immigration. The dispute centred on whether the applicant had breached condition 8202 of the Migration Regulations 1994, which requires a student visa holder to maintain enrolment in a registered course and achieve satisfactory course progress and attendance.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if the applicant had breached condition 8202 of her visa. This condition, as it applied to the applicant, mandated that she be enrolled in a registered course and not be certified by her education provider as not achieving satisfactory course progress or attendance. The Tribunal also had to consider whether, having found a breach, the discretion to cancel the visa should be exercised, taking into account various factors including the applicant's circumstances and Australia's international obligations.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not been enrolled in a registered course of study between 11 December 2017 and 4 March 2018, and therefore had not complied with condition 8202(2)(a). In considering the exercise of discretion, the Tribunal noted the applicant's stated intention to remain in Australia permanently and her pursuit of study to achieve this. However, it found that the applicant's explanations for her lack of enrolment and the circumstances surrounding her marriage and pregnancy did not outweigh the breach of the visa condition. The Tribunal also gave little weight to submissions concerning potential breaches of international obligations, finding no evidence that the cancellation would result in a consequential cancellation of another person's visa or that Australia would be in breach of its international obligations.

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