Sandhu (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Mr. Sandhu, an applicant for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500. The dispute arose from the Department of Home Affairs' decision to cancel Mr. Sandhu's visa. The applicant sought review of this cancellation decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr. Sandhu had breached condition 8202 of Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth). This condition requires a student visa holder to maintain enrolment in a registered course of study. If a breach was found, the Tribunal then had to consider whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa.

The Tribunal found that the evidence, including Mr. Sandhu's own admissions, established that he had not been enrolled in a full-time registered course for a significant period, specifically from May 2021 to August 2022. This failure constituted a breach of condition 8202(2)(a) of the Regulations. While acknowledging Mr. Sandhu's stated desire to remain in Australia, pursue studies in hospitality, and make his parents proud, the Tribunal did not consider these reasons to be a compelling need to remain in Australia, particularly given the prolonged period of non-enrolment. The Tribunal also noted that Mr. Sandhu's stated intention to study a Bachelor of Social Work appeared questionable, as he indicated he was encouraged to enrol and ideally preferred to obtain work experience.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the Department's decision to cancel Mr. Sandhu's visa.