Rajbhandari (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500, brought by Mr. Rajbhandari and a secondary applicant. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine whether the primary applicant met the criteria for the visa, specifically concerning enrolment in a course of study.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant was enrolled in a course of study at the time of the decision, as mandated by clause 500.211 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause requires an applicant to be enrolled in a "full-time registered course," which is further defined by regulations concerning courses provided by registered institutions to overseas students.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant had not provided evidence of enrolment in a course of study as of the decision date. The applicant also did not indicate that they met the enrolment requirements in their response to an invitation to comment. Consequently, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the primary applicant met the criteria under clause 500.211. As the primary applicant failed to satisfy the primary criteria, the secondary applicant, as a member of the family unit, could not satisfy the secondary criteria, as they were not a member of a family unit where the primary criteria were met.

Accordingly, the Tribunal affirmed the decisions not to grant the applicants Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visas.