Rezazadeh (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Amir Rezazadeh against a decision by the Department of Home Affairs to refuse his application for a subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa. The core of the dispute revolved around whether Mr Rezazadeh had met the English language proficiency requirements as stipulated by the Migration Regulations.

The Tribunal was required to determine if Mr Rezazadeh had satisfied clause 485.212 of the Migration Regulations. This clause mandates that an application for a subclass 485 visa must be accompanied by evidence of either having undertaken a specified English language test within a defined period and achieved the required score, or holding a passport from a country specified by the Minister. The relevant instrument, IMMI 16/062, detailed the approved language tests, minimum scores, timeframes, and specified passport types.

The Tribunal found that Mr Rezazadeh did not meet the alternative requirement of holding a specified passport. Therefore, he was required to satisfy clause 485.212(a). The evidence indicated that Mr Rezazadeh had undertaken the Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE) and that this test was taken within the three years prior to his visa application. However, the critical issue was that this evidence was not provided with his initial application. The Department had sent an email requesting this evidence, which unfortunately went into Mr Rezazadeh's junk email folder. Despite the evidence being provided later, the Tribunal concluded that the regulations did not allow for discretion to waive the requirement that the evidence accompany the application or be provided upon request within the specified timeframe. As the applicant failed to provide the required evidence in a timely manner, the Tribunal affirmed the Department's decision.