NOVARIT (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 572, made by the first applicant in Australia. The dispute before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was whether the applicant met the criteria for the visa, specifically clause 572.211. The applicant did not hold a specified substantive visa at the time of application.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant satisfied clause 572.211, which, in circumstances where the applicant does not hold a specified substantive visa, requires that the last substantive visa held was a student visa, that the current visa application was made within 28 days of that last substantive visa ceasing to be in effect, and that Schedule 3 criterion 3005 is satisfied. The Tribunal also considered whether the applicant was currently studying, as this was relevant to the overall assessment.

The Tribunal found that while the applicant's last substantive visa was a student visa, satisfying one limb of the criterion, the application was not made within the prescribed 28-day period. The applicant confirmed that his last substantive visa ceased on 15 March 2016, but the visa application was lodged on 20 April 2016, which was more than 28 days later. Furthermore, the applicant admitted he had not been studying since February 2016 and intended to wait for the visa outcome before resuming studies.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decisions not to grant the applicants the Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visas. As the primary applicant failed to meet the criteria, the secondary applicant, who applied as a dependent, also did not meet the requirements for the visa.