Shergill (Migration)

This matter concerned an application by Mr Shergill for a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa, Subclass 187, Direct Entry stream. The dispute arose because the nomination application made by the prospective employer, The Company, was refused by the Department of Home Affairs. Mr Shergill sought review of the decision not to grant him the visa before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Shergill met the criteria for the Subclass 187 visa, specifically clause 187.233 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994, which pertains to the nomination of a position. This involved considering whether the nomination had been approved and not subsequently withdrawn, and whether the applicant had been identified in the nomination where applicable.

The Tribunal reasoned that the Department's refusal of The Company's nomination application, and the subsequent finding by the Tribunal that it lacked jurisdiction to review that refusal due to The Company's deregistration, meant that the nomination had not been approved. As an approved nomination was a mandatory criterion under cl.187.233(3), Mr Shergill could not satisfy this requirement. The Tribunal noted, by reference to *Singh v MIBP* [2017] FCAFC 105, that this was a "once off" process.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant Mr Shergill the visa, as he had failed to meet the essential criteria for the Direct Entry stream of the Subclass 187 visa.