Randhawa (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa, Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme), Direct Entry stream, for the position of Office Manager. The applicant sought review of a decision to refuse the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the position to which the visa application related was the subject of an approved nomination, as required by clause 187.233 of the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause, as applicable, stipulated several conditions, including that the nomination must have been approved, not subsequently withdrawn, and that the visa application must have been made within six months of the nomination's approval.

The Tribunal noted that the nomination lodged by The Creed Family Trust was refused on 11 July 2018. While an application for review of this refusal was lodged, it was subsequently withdrawn, and the Tribunal determined it did not have jurisdiction to review the delegate's decision to refuse the employer nomination. In the absence of evidence that the position was the subject of an approved nomination, and given the applicant's confirmation that he understood this requirement and did not wish to respond to the Tribunal's concern, the Tribunal was inclined to affirm the delegate's decision.

Consequently, the Tribunal found that the primary applicant did not meet the criteria set out in clause 187.233, and by extension, the second applicant did not meet the criteria in clause 187.311. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicants the visas.