PILLAY (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500, made by an applicant who was not within the migration zone at the time of lodging the application. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine whether it had jurisdiction to review the decision concerning this visa application.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant's failure to be within the migration zone at the time of application rendered the decision not a reviewable decision under the relevant legislative provisions. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider the effect of Sections 338 and 411 of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and regulation 4.02(4) of the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth) on the Tribunal's jurisdiction.

The Tribunal reasoned that, pursuant to Sections 338 and 411 of the Act and regulation 4.02(4) of the Regulations, a decision is only reviewable by the Tribunal if the applicant was within the migration zone at the time the application was made. As the applicant in this case was not within the migration zone when they applied for the visa, the decision made in relation to that application was not a reviewable decision. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter. The Tribunal therefore made no order in relation to the merits of the visa application itself, as the threshold jurisdictional requirement had not been met.