Naeem (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate), made by Mr Naeem. The dispute concerned whether Mr Naeem met the requirements for the visa, specifically in relation to providing evidence of an Australian Federal Police (AFP) Check.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr Naeem had satisfied the requirements of clause 485.213 of the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause mandates that a visa application must be accompanied by evidence that the applicant, and any other person included in the application aged 16 or over, had applied for an AFP Check within the 12 months immediately preceding the date of the visa application.

The Tribunal found that the evidence before it did not demonstrate that Mr Naeem's visa application was accompanied by proof of having applied for an AFP Check within the requisite 12-month period. The applicant had applied for the AFP Check after lodging his visa application. As the Tribunal has no discretion to waive this specific regulatory requirement, Mr Naeem failed to meet the criteria for the grant of the Subclass 485 visa. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.