Mehtab Singh (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, Subclass 500 (Student), made by an applicant holding an Indian passport. The dispute before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had satisfied the English language proficiency criterion, specifically clause 500.213 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations. The applicant had provided evidence of their English language proficiency through a PTE Academic test taken on 15 January 2017, which resulted in an Overall Score of 50.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant met the English language proficiency requirement as stipulated by clause 500.213(1) of the Regulations, which mandates that an applicant must provide evidence of English language proficiency if required by the Minister, unless they fall within a specified class of applicants under clause 500.213(2). The Tribunal also needed to consider the effect of IMMI 16/019, an instrument that specifies the requirements for evidence of English language proficiency and lists classes of applicants to whom the requirement does not apply.

The Tribunal reasoned that as the applicant held a passport from India, they did not belong to any of the classes of applicants exempted from the English language proficiency requirement as outlined in IMMI 16/019. Therefore, clause 500.213(1) applied. The Tribunal found that the applicant had been required by the Minister to provide evidence of English language proficiency and had satisfied this requirement by submitting the PTE Academic test results. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant met the criterion in clause 500.213.

The Tribunal ordered that the application for the Subclass 500 (Student) visa be remitted for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that the applicant had met the criterion specified in clause 500.213 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations. The Minister was to proceed to consider the remaining criteria for the visa.