Saenset (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, Subclass 500 (Student), before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The applicant had failed to respond to an invitation under s 359(2) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) to provide information or evidence, and therefore was not entitled to appear before the Tribunal. The central dispute revolved around whether the applicant met the enrolment criteria for the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied clause 500.211 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), which requires an applicant to be enrolled in a full-time registered course of study at the time of the decision. The Tribunal also considered the definitions of "course of study" and "registered course" as provided in the Regulations and the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (Cth).

The Tribunal reasoned that while the applicant had indicated in a response to a request for information that she held a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE), she failed to provide a copy of this CoE. Furthermore, records from the Placement, Registration and Information Management System (PRISMS) indicated that the applicant had not held a CoE since July 2018, and all previous CoEs had been cancelled. Consequently, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant was currently enrolled in a registered course of study, meaning clause 500.211 was not met.

As the applicant did not claim to meet the criteria for a Subclass 590 (Student Guardian) visa, and the primary criteria for the Subclass 500 visa were not satisfied, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.