Rajwinder Singh (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Rajwinder Singh, who sought review of the decision to cancel his Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 573. The dispute centred on whether Mr. Singh had breached a condition of his visa, thereby providing grounds for its cancellation under section 116(1) of the Migration Act 1958.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr. Singh had complied with condition 8202 of Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994. This condition requires a student visa holder to be enrolled in a registered course and to achieve satisfactory course progress and attendance. The Tribunal was required to determine if Mr. Singh had breached this condition and, if so, whether to exercise its discretion to cancel his visa.

The Tribunal found that Mr. Singh had breached condition 8202(2) because he was not enrolled in a registered course for a period of approximately seven months. This finding was supported by records from the Provider Registration and International Student Management Systems (PRISMS) and was not disputed by Mr. Singh. Although Mr. Singh provided reasons for his non-enrolment, including that his tuition money was stolen, the Tribunal considered these reasons insufficient to outweigh the significant period of breach. In exercising its discretion, the Tribunal had regard to the purpose of the visa, the extent of compliance with visa conditions, and the hardship that cancellation might cause. Ultimately, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel Mr. Singh's visa.