Molano Mora (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Subclass 500 (Student) visa made by the applicant, who had arrived in Australia in March 2019 and applied for the visa in October 2019. The applicant was enrolled in a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery, with subsequent enrolments in a Certificate IV and a Diploma of Hospitality Management. The core of the dispute was whether the applicant genuinely intended to stay in Australia temporarily, as required by clause 500.212 of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant satisfied the genuine temporary entrant criterion for the Subclass 500 visa. This involved assessing the applicant's circumstances in their home country, their potential circumstances in Australia, the value of the proposed course to their future, and their immigration history, in accordance with Ministerial Direction No. 69. The Direction stipulated that these factors were not to be used as a checklist but as guidance for a holistic assessment of the applicant's genuine intention to remain in Australia temporarily.

The Tribunal found that the applicant did not meet the genuine temporary entrant criterion. While the applicant had some ties to Colombia, including family, and had previously undertaken culinary studies, the Tribunal noted that the applicant possessed culinary qualifications from his home country. The Tribunal considered that the applicant's continued study in Australia, particularly in a field for which he already held qualifications, suggested that the student migration program was being used to maintain ongoing residence rather than for genuine temporary study. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.