Selletore (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by a Malaysian citizen and her husband against the refusal of their Subclass 500 (Student) visas. The primary applicant, aged 28, had arrived in Australia on visitor visas with her husband and subsequently applied for student visas. Their applications were refused because the delegate was not satisfied that the primary applicant was a genuine applicant for entry and stay as a student, failing to meet criterion cl.500.212 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations. Consequently, the second applicant, as a member of the family unit, also failed to meet the criteria for the grant of the visa.

The legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the primary applicant genuinely intended to stay in Australia temporarily as a student, and whether she intended to comply with the conditions of the visa. This required consideration of her circumstances in her home country, her potential circumstances in Australia, the value of her proposed course of study to her future, her immigration history, and any other relevant matters, in accordance with Direction No. 69. The Tribunal was also required to assess whether she intended to comply with visa conditions.

The Tribunal found that the applicants were credible witnesses. Crucially, the primary applicant gave evidence that she no longer intended to study the Advanced Diploma of Business, having decided to cancel this course and complete her Diploma of Business by July 2019, with the intention of returning to Malaysia around that time. Her husband corroborated this intention. The Tribunal was satisfied that she had taken steps to cancel the Advanced Diploma and genuinely intended to complete her studies and depart Australia.

Given these findings, the Tribunal concluded that the primary applicant met criterion cl.500.212. Accordingly, the Tribunal remitted the applications for the Subclass 500 (Student) visas for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that the first named applicant meets the genuine temporary entrant criterion.