Nepal (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant whose Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500, was cancelled. The dispute centred on whether the applicant had breached a condition of their visa, thereby providing grounds for cancellation under section 116(1) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The applicant sought to have the cancellation decision reviewed by the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had complied with condition 8202(2)(a) of Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994, which requires a student visa holder to be enrolled in a full-time registered course. The Tribunal also considered whether, having found a breach, it should exercise its discretion to cancel the visa.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not maintained enrolment in a registered course from 24 September 2018, and therefore had breached condition 8202(2)(a). While the applicant claimed to have enrolled in an English course in February 2020, no evidence was provided to substantiate this. The applicant also explained his lack of re-enrolment between March and September 2018 due to depression and difficulties with education agents. Despite these explanations and the submission of various documents relating to his academic history and personal circumstances, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant's continued residence in Australia on a student visa after his enrolment was cancelled was not justified.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's visa.