Nguyen (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) affirmed the decision of the Minister to cancel the visa of Ms Nguyen, a holder of a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) Subclass 573 visa. Ms Nguyen had been enrolled in a Higher Education Sector course but failed to maintain enrolment in a registered course, having changed courses and subsequently failed to re-enrol. The Tribunal considered evidence relating to her ill relative, financial assistance from her parents, and the use of her visa to establish residence, ultimately finding that she was not a genuine student.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Ms Nguyen had satisfied the criteria for maintaining her visa, specifically concerning her obligation to be enrolled in a registered course of study. This involved assessing the credibility of the evidence presented by Ms Nguyen regarding her circumstances, including her reasons for changing courses and her financial situation, against the objective facts of her enrolment status. The Tribunal was required to determine if the Minister's decision to cancel her visa was justified under the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and associated regulations.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal found that Ms Nguyen's evidence was inconsistent and did not adequately explain her failure to re-enrol in a registered course. The Tribunal placed significant weight on the fact that she had changed courses and then failed to re-enrol, which directly contravened the conditions of her visa. Furthermore, the Tribunal considered that her use of the visa to establish residence, rather than primarily for study, indicated that she was not a genuine student. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the Minister's decision to cancel Ms Nguyen's visa was correct and affirmed that decision.