Safdar (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the application of Mr. Safdar for a Skilled Independent (Permanent) (Class SI) visa, subclass 189. The dispute concerned whether Mr. Safdar met the 'points test' criterion for the visa, specifically in relation to his overseas employment experience and educational qualifications. The decision under review affirmed the delegate's refusal of the visa application.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr. Safdar's claimed overseas employment experience as a Network Engineer, Senior Sales Engineer, and BSS Engineer, and his educational qualification obtained from Pakistan, were comparable to Australian standards and met the requirements for the visa. This involved assessing the comparability of his Pakistani qualification to an Australian degree and considering whether his partner's qualifications were relevant to the points assessment.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal applied the principles of the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth) and relevant ministerial guidelines concerning the assessment of overseas qualifications and employment experience. The Tribunal found that Mr. Safdar's qualification from Pakistan was not assessed as comparable to an Australian bachelor's degree by the relevant assessing authority. Furthermore, the Tribunal determined that his claimed overseas work experience did not meet the required standards for the points test. Consequently, Mr. Safdar did not achieve the qualifying score necessary for the visa. The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the visa.