LIN (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Subclass 187 Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) visa under the Temporary Residence Transition Stream, lodged by the first named applicant for an appointment as a Chief Executive or Managing Director. The dispute centred on the applicant's English language proficiency, with a request for Ministerial Intervention having been made.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the English language proficiency requirements for the visa at the time of application. Specifically, the court had to consider the definitions of "competent English" as set out in the Migration Regulations 1994, and the relevant legislative instruments specifying the acceptable language tests, scores, and passport exemptions.

The Tribunal reasoned that to meet the requirement of competent English, an applicant must either have undertaken a specified language test within the preceding three years and achieved a specified score, or hold a passport from a specified country. The applicant had not undertaken any of the specified language tests, nor did they hold a passport from one of the listed countries. Consequently, the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for competent English as defined by the regulations and specified in IMMI 15/005.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa, finding that the applicant had failed to meet the English language proficiency requirements. The matter was referred to the Department for consideration under ministerial guidelines.