Shahid (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal regarding the refusal of a Subclass 500 (Student) visa. The applicant sought to challenge the delegate's decision to refuse the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a Subclass 500 (Student) visa, specifically the requirement under clause 500.212 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations that the applicant be a genuine applicant for entry and stay as a student. This involved assessing whether the applicant genuinely intended to stay in Australia temporarily.

The Tribunal considered Direction No. 69, which guides decision-makers on assessing the genuine temporary entrant criterion. The Tribunal noted that the applicant had been in Australia on student or associated bridging visas since 2014, having only completed an English language course. The applicant's proposed Bachelor of Nursing study was considered similar to prior offshore qualifications in medicine and surgery, and the applicant already held superior qualifications and work experience in the medical field in her home country. The Tribunal found that the applicant had not provided a substantial reason for further study, leading to the conclusion that the applicant did not genuinely intend to stay in Australia temporarily.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision not to grant the applicants the Subclass 500 (Student) visas.