Perez Manihuari (Migration)

This matter concerns an application for review of a decision by a delegate of the Minister for Home Affairs to cancel Gabby Perez Manihuari's subclass 573 Higher Education Sector visa. The cancellation was based on the applicant's alleged failure to comply with visa condition 8202, specifically by not maintaining enrolment in a registered course of study. The applicant sought review of this decision before the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had breached visa condition 8202 by failing to be enrolled in a registered course of study. If such a breach was established, the Tribunal then had to consider whether the visa should be cancelled under section 116(1)(b) of the Migration Act. The period of alleged non-enrolment was from 14 January 2017 to 8 August 2017.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's explanations provided in response to a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation. The applicant submitted medical certificates from two doctors, dated 31 January 2017 and 2 May 2017, which covered the relevant period. These certificates indicated that the applicant was unable to attend to her studies due to giving birth in late December 2016. The Tribunal found that these circumstances constituted compelling reasons for the breach of her visa condition. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the decision to cancel the applicant's visa should be set aside.