Liu (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision to refuse an employer nomination for a Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme) visa, Direct Entry stream. The review applicant was Ms Di Liu, and the nominator was Modern Mediterranean Pty Ltd. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine whether the review applicant met the criteria for the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the nomination had been approved, as required by clause 187.233(3) of the Migration Regulations. This clause mandates that the Minister must have approved the nomination, and that the nominator must be the entity that will employ the applicant. The Tribunal also considered whether the nominator, Modern Mediterranean Pty Ltd, was a legal entity capable of making a nomination and participating in a review.

The Tribunal found that Modern Mediterranean Pty Ltd had been deregistered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) prior to the review application being lodged. Consequently, the company ceased to exist as a legal entity, meaning there was no legal entity to act as the applicant in the review of the nomination refusal. As a result, the Tribunal concluded it had no jurisdiction to review the refusal of the nomination. Without an approved nomination, the Tribunal determined that the review applicant could not satisfy clause 187.233(3), and therefore did not meet the criteria for the Subclass 187 visa.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant Ms Di Liu the visa.