Liu (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision not to grant Temporary Business Entry (Class UC) visas, specifically Subclass 457 – Temporary Work (Skilled) visas, to the applicants. The primary applicant sought to satisfy the criteria under cl.457.223(4)(a), which requires an approved nomination of an occupation by a standard business sponsor. The Tribunal, presided over by Bridget Cullen, was tasked with determining whether the primary visa applicant met this essential requirement.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the primary visa applicant had satisfied the requirements of cl.457.223(4)(a) of the Migration Regulations 1994, specifically concerning the existence of an approved nomination. This requirement was critical, as the Tribunal had indicated that the outcome of the visa application would depend entirely on the outcome of a related nomination application made by Alpha Jy Internation Trading & Service Pty Ltd, which was heard concurrently.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the fact that the nomination lodged by Alpha Jy Internation Trading & Service Pty Ltd had been refused by the Department and this decision was affirmed by the Tribunal on 14 November 2017. Following this, the Tribunal issued a notice under s.359A of the Migration Act 1958 on 18 December 2017, inviting the applicants to comment on information that would likely lead to the affirmation of the decision under review. This adverse information related to the refusal of the nomination. Despite the invitation being sent to the applicants' migration agent and specifying a deadline of 2 January 2018, no response was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was not satisfied that an approved nomination existed in respect of the primary visa applicant, meaning cl.457.223(4)(a) was not met. As the primary applicant failed to satisfy the primary criteria, the secondary applicants, as family members, also failed to satisfy the secondary criteria under cl.457.321.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the Temporary Business Entry (Class UC) visas to the applicants, finding that the requirements for the standard business sponsor stream had not been met.