Sandhu (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a migration matter involving an applicant seeking a Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme) visa under the Direct Entry stream. The dispute arose from the Department's refusal to approve the nominated position, which was subsequently reviewed by the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the nominated position, initially described as Hotel or Motel Manager, could be validly changed to Café or Restaurant Manager, and whether this revised nomination met the requirements of the relevant regulations, specifically r.5.19(4) of the Migration Regulations 1994. The Tribunal also had to determine if the nominated position remained available to the applicant and if the nomination had been approved.

The Tribunal reasoned that the regulations did not mandate that a nomination under the RSMS Direct Entry stream be fixed to a particular identified occupation. It found that the position descriptions for Hotel or Motel Manager and Café or Restaurant Manager were effectively identical in this context, and the role in the new location was best characterised as a Café or Restaurant Manager. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the nomination satisfied all requirements under r.5.19(4), setting aside the Department's refusal and approving the nomination for the position of Café or Restaurant Manager.

The Tribunal remitted the visa applications for reconsideration by the Minister, directing that the first applicant met the criteria under cl.187.233(3) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.