Martinez (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a decision concerning a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa, subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme), Temporary Residence Transition stream, for a Diesel Motor Mechanic. The primary applicant, Mr. Martinez, sought review of the decision not to grant him the visa, while the Tribunal also addressed its jurisdiction concerning other named applicants.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the first named applicant met the English language proficiency requirements for the visa at the time of his application. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the applicant possessed "vocational English" as defined by the relevant regulations and legislative instruments, or if he was exempt from this requirement. The Tribunal also considered its jurisdiction regarding the second, third, and fourth named applicants, which depended on whether they were within the migration zone when the review application was lodged.

The Tribunal reasoned that for visa applications made on or after 1 January 2015 and before 1 July 2017, vocational English could be demonstrated by holding a passport from certain English-speaking countries or by achieving a specified score in a recognised English language test within the three years preceding the application. The applicant, holding a passport from the Philippines, did not meet the passport criterion. Furthermore, it was not disputed that he had not undertaken a specified English test with the required scores within the relevant timeframe. Consequently, he did not satisfy the definition of vocational English. The Tribunal also examined the exemption criteria, which included having completed at least five years of full-time study where all tuition was delivered in English. The applicant did not meet this exemption either. Regarding the other applicants, the Tribunal found it lacked jurisdiction as they were not in the migration zone when the review application was lodged, as required by section 347(3) of the Migration Act 1958.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the first named applicant the Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa. The Tribunal also determined that it did not have jurisdiction in relation to the second, third, and fourth named applicants.