Mohammed Azher (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Mohammed Azher, who sought review of a decision not to grant him a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, specifically a Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa. The central dispute concerned whether Mr. Azher had met the English language proficiency requirements for the visa.

The Tribunal was required to determine if Mr. Azher satisfied clause 485.212 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause mandates that a visa application must be accompanied by evidence of having undertaken a specified language test, achieved the required score within the specified period, and met any other specified requirements. Alternatively, the applicant could hold a passport of a type specified by the Minister.

The Tribunal found that Mr. Azher did not meet the passport requirement. Regarding the English language proficiency, Mr. Azher's application was accompanied by a PTE Academic test result from 10 January 2020, which showed an overall score of 49, falling below the minimum requirement of 50. Although Mr. Azher later provided a PTE Academic test result from 16 January 2020 with a score of 53, he conceded that this latter result had not accompanied his initial visa application to the Department. The Tribunal held that the crucial issue was whether the evidence submitted with the application met the requirements of clause 485.212, and as the higher score was not provided at the time of application, this criterion was not satisfied.

Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that Mr. Azher did not meet the requirements of clause 485.212 and therefore did not satisfy the criteria for the grant of a Subclass 485 visa. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.