Ravneet Kaur (Migration)

This matter concerns an application for review of a decision by the Department of Home Affairs not to grant the applicant a Subclass 187 Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa. The applicant sought to satisfy the criteria for this visa under the Direct Entry stream. The decision under review was affirmed by the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the requirements of cl.187.233 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause outlines specific criteria for a nominated position in the Direct Entry stream, including that the position must be located in regional Australia, the nomination must have been approved and not withdrawn, and the applicant must be identified in relation to the position if the nomination was made on or after 1 July 2017. The clause also requires that the employer who made the nomination is the one who will employ the applicant, that there is no adverse information known to Immigration about the nominator or associated persons (or such information is reasonable to disregard), that the position remains available to the applicant, and that the visa application was made within six months of the nomination's approval.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the fact that the nomination made by the applicant's employer, Saini Pty Ltd, had not been approved. The Tribunal had previously affirmed the Department's decision not to approve this nomination on 1 June 2021. As a consequence, the Tribunal found that the applicant could not satisfy the requirement under cl.187.233(3) that the nomination has been approved. The Tribunal also noted that the applicant had not responded to invitations to comment on this adverse information or to attend a hearing, despite being given opportunities to do so.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant the visa, concluding that the applicant had not met the essential criteria for the Subclass 187 visa in the Direct Entry stream.