Mustafa (Migration)

This matter concerned the review of a decision by the Department to cancel the applicant's Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 572 (Vocational Education and Training Sector). The applicant, a national of Pakistan, had been granted the visa on 17 April 2015, valid until 22 August 2018, and it was subject to condition 8202. The cancellation was based on the applicant not being enrolled in a registered course, a breach of condition 8202(2) of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had breached condition 8202 of his visa, and if so, whether the discretion to cancel the visa should be exercised. Condition 8202 required the visa holder to be enrolled in a registered course. The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant had maintained such enrolment from 7 August 2015, when his Bachelor of Business course was cancelled due to non-commencement, until he obtained a new Confirmation of Enrolment (COE) for an Advanced Diploma of Leadership and Management on 28 October 2016.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had indeed breached condition 8202(2) as he was not enrolled in a registered course between 7 August 2015 and 24 October 2016. While the applicant provided an explanation for this period of non-enrolment, citing the death of his grandparents and resulting distress, the Tribunal noted his failure to respond to requests for further documentation regarding this explanation and his studies. The Tribunal considered the circumstances, including the applicant's explanation and departmental procedural instructions, but ultimately concluded that the grounds for cancellation existed and that the visa should be cancelled. The Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's visa.