LI (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a case involving the cancellation of a Subclass 892 (State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner) visa. The applicant, LI, had been granted the visa as a dependant of his mother. The dispute arose when the delegate formed the view that incorrect information had been supplied in the visa application concerning the applicant's relationship status, which subsequently led to the cancellation of his visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had failed to comply with the requirements of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) by providing incorrect information in his visa application, and if so, whether the visa should be cancelled. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the applicant's response to the question regarding his relationship status on Form 47A, stating he was 'never married or in a de facto relationship', was incorrect, given a later spouse visa application where he and Ms Weiling Zhang claimed to have been in a de facto relationship since a specific date. The Tribunal also considered whether the notice issued under section 107 of the Act, which particularised the alleged non-compliance, met the statutory requirements.

The Tribunal found that the notice issued under section 107 complied with the statutory requirements and that the delegate had reached the necessary state of mind to engage this section. Furthermore, the Tribunal concluded that there had been non-compliance by the applicant in the manner described in the section 107 notice. However, after considering all relevant circumstances, the Tribunal determined that the visa should not be cancelled.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the decision under review and substituted a decision not to cancel the applicant’s Subclass 892 visa.