Luis Miguel (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of Luis Miguel concerning his application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, specifically the Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa under the Post-Study Work stream. The dispute centred on whether Mr Miguel met the Australian study requirement for this visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine the correct course completion date for the purposes of the Australian study requirement, as stipulated in the Migration Regulations. This involved interpreting when the applicant was considered to have completed his course of study in relation to the date he lodged his visa application.

The Tribunal found that the letters of completion issued by the University were dated the same day as the visa application was made. Applying the relevant criteria, specifically clause 485.231 of the Migration Regulations, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not meet the Australian study requirement because the course completion date was not prior to the date of the visa application. Consequently, the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for the grant of the Subclass 485 visa.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant Mr Miguel the Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa.