Liu (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by an applicant for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, subclass 485, against the Department's decision to refuse their application. The appeal was heard by the Tribunal, presided over by Member Alison Mercer.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had satisfied the requirements of clause 485.212 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the applicant's visa application was "accompanied by" evidence of English language proficiency, as mandated by the regulations. The applicant had completed an English language test and achieved the required score, but this evidence was not submitted with the initial application.

The Tribunal reasoned that the phrase "accompanied by" required the evidence to be submitted at the time of the application, not subsequently. Citing the case of *Panchal v Minister for Immigration* [2012] FMCA 562, the Tribunal held that the evidence could not be considered to have accompanied the application when it was provided only after the Department had issued a refusal notification. As the applicant had not met the requirement of clause 485.212(a) by providing the necessary evidence with their application, they did not satisfy the criteria for the grant of the visa.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the Department's decision to refuse the applicant's subclass 485 visa application.