Piedeloup (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by Mr Piedeloup for a further Subclass 405 Investor Retirement visa. The applicant sought to rely on sponsorship from the Department of Business Northern Territory Government, indicating an intention to reside in a regional area. The core of the dispute concerned whether the applicant met the financial criteria for the visa, specifically the requirement for an annual income of at least AUD 50,000 and the maintenance of a designated investment of at least AUD 250,000.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant satisfied clause 405.228(3) of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. This involved assessing whether the applicant had access to the specified net annual income and had maintained the required designated investment. A further consideration was whether any shortfall in meeting these criteria could be excused due to compelling and compassionate circumstances, particularly in light of legislative amendments effective from 1 July 2017. The Tribunal also had to consider the circumstances surrounding the applicant's grant of a Bridging Visa C, which restricted his ability to work and potentially impacted his income.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had met the requirement of maintaining a designated investment of $250,000 in Northern Territory Bonds since April 2015. However, the applicant's presented income of approximately $49,000 for the preceding 12 months fell short of the AUD 50,000 threshold. The Tribunal accepted the applicant's explanation that his income was restricted due to being prohibited from working on his Bridging Visa C, which was granted because his initial visa application was not valid when lodged. This situation arose because the application was not properly completed and lacked the required sponsorship documentation at the time of lodgement, resulting in its validity date being after his previous visa expired.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that the applicant meets the criteria under clause 405.228(3) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations, acknowledging that the shortfall in income was due to circumstances beyond his control.