LESTARI (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, Subclass 572 (Vocational Education and Training Sector). The applicant sought review of a decision not to grant her this visa. The core dispute revolved around whether the applicant met the genuine temporary entrant criterion, specifically the requirement that she be a genuine student with a genuine intention to remain in Australia temporarily.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant satisfied the criterion in clause 572.223(1)(a) of the Migration Regulations 1994. This involved assessing whether the applicant was a genuine applicant for entry and stay as a student, and whether she genuinely intended to stay in Australia temporarily. In making this assessment, the Tribunal was bound to have regard to Direction No. 53, which outlines various factors to be considered, including the applicant's circumstances in her home country and Australia, her immigration history, and the value of the proposed course to her future.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant had not demonstrated she met the genuine temporary entrant criterion. Despite presenting a letter indicating enrolment in a Diploma of Business, she had been granted a Bridging Visa E with a "No Study" condition, preventing her from continuing her studies. The Tribunal noted an unexplained year-long gap in her enrolment history and a change in her proposed course of study from Higher Education to Vocational Education and Training. Furthermore, there was no evidence to support her claimed intention to study accounting. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not meet an essential requirement for the grant of a student visa under Subclass 572, and by extension, other subclasses within Class TU (excluding Subclass 580, for which there was no relevant material).

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa.