Riaz (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500 (Student), where the applicant sought review of a decision not to grant the visa. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for the visa, specifically concerning their enrolment status.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant was enrolled in a full-time registered course of study at the time of the decision, as required by clause 500.211(a) of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. A "course of study" was defined as a "full-time registered course," and a "registered course" was one provided by an institution registered under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000.

The Tribunal considered the information recorded in the Provider Registration and International Student Management System (PRISMS), which is a computer system used by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment and the Department of Home Affairs to store information about accepted overseas students and confirm enrolments. The Tribunal accepted PRISMS as a reliable record of enrolments in the absence of evidence to the contrary. In this case, the PRISMS record indicated that the applicant was not currently enrolled in a course of study. Consequently, the Tribunal found that the applicant did not satisfy clause 500.211(a) and affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.