Manda (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, Subclass 500. The applicant, a 26-year-old Indian national, sought to review a decision by the Department of Home Affairs to refuse his visa application. The core of the dispute revolved around whether the applicant met the criteria for a genuine student, specifically concerning his enrolment in a registered course of study.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied clause 500.211(a) of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994, which requires an applicant to be enrolled in a course of study at the time of the decision. A "course of study" is defined as a "full-time registered course," and a "registered course" is one provided by an institution registered under the *Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000* (ESOS Act). The Tribunal also considered the role of the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS), managed through the PRISMS system, as a reliable record of enrolments.

The Tribunal reasoned that PRISMS, a system maintained by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment and used by the Department of Home Affairs, serves as a crucial business record for verifying student enrolments. Unless there is specific evidence to the contrary, the Tribunal accepts PRISMS as a reliable indicator of enrolment status. In this instance, the applicant had initially intended to complete a Master of Information Technology but, unable to do so, enrolled in a Certificate III and IV of Commercial Cookery and a Diploma of Hospitality Management. However, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant was enrolled in a course of study at the time of the decision, meaning clause 500.211 was not met.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision of the Department of Home Affairs not to grant the applicant a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa.