Leger (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a delegate's decision to refuse a Bridging B (Class WB) visa. The applicant, a citizen of Tonga, had arrived in Australia in 2014 and remained unlawfully for a period before holding successive Bridging E visas. He applied for a Bridging B visa on 17 February 2021, stating a desire to visit Tonga. The delegate refused the application on 29 July 2021, and the applicant sought review by the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for the grant of a Bridging B visa, specifically as stipulated by clause 020.212 of the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause requires, among other things, that at the time of application, the applicant must have made a valid application in Australia for a substantive visa of a kind that can be granted while the applicant is in Australia, or a valid application for a Partner (Migrant)(Class BC) visa.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the applicant's failure to satisfy clause 020.212(2)(a). The evidence before the Tribunal indicated that the applicant had not made a valid application for a substantive visa in Australia at the time he lodged his Bridging B visa application. Consequently, the Tribunal found that the applicant did not meet this essential criterion, and by extension, could not satisfy the alternative criteria under subclauses (3)(a), (4)(a), or (5)(a) of clause 020.212. As the applicant failed to meet the requirements of clause 020.212, he was ineligible for a Bridging B visa.

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision not to grant the applicant a Bridging B (Class WB) visa.