Sharma (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review by the applicant, Mr Sharma, of a decision to refuse his Subclass 187 (Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN)) visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for the visa, specifically in relation to the Direct Entry stream.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had satisfied clause 187.233 of the Migration Regulations 1994, which requires, among other things, that the position to which the visa application relates must be the subject of an approved nomination. The Tribunal noted that the nomination lodged by the employer, TGM INVESTMENTS (VIC) PTY LTD, had been refused by the Department of Home Affairs on 12 October 2020, and no review of this refusal had been sought by the nominator.

The Tribunal reasoned that a fundamental requirement for the grant of a Subclass 187 visa in the Direct Entry stream is an approved nomination. As the nominator's application for approval of the nomination had been refused and this decision stood, there was no approved nomination upon which the applicant's visa application could be based. Consequently, the applicant failed to satisfy clause 187.233 of the Regulations.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding that the applicant had not met the necessary criteria for the Subclass 187 visa in the Direct Entry stream.