Lim (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviewed a decision by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration to refuse to grant the applicant a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500. The applicant had applied for the visa on 31 August 2017 to undertake study in Australia. The delegate's refusal was based on the applicant not satisfying clause 500.212 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994, as the delegate was not satisfied the applicant was a genuine student intending to stay temporarily in Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the enrolment requirements for a student visa at the time of the Tribunal's decision. Specifically, the Tribunal considered clause 500.211(a) of the Regulations, which requires that at the time of the decision, the applicant is enrolled in a course of study. A "course of study" is defined as a full-time registered course, which in turn is a course provided by an institution registered under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 to provide courses to overseas students.

The Tribunal noted that the applicant had been invited to provide evidence of enrolment at least seven days before the hearing, but this evidence was not provided. The applicant acknowledged that they were not enrolled in a course of study at the time of the decision. As the applicant did not claim to meet any alternative criteria under clause 500.211, and the primary criterion of being enrolled in a course of study was not met, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the visa.