Singh (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review by Mr Singh of a decision to refuse him a Subclass 602 Medical Treatment (Visitor) visa. The applicant, who was offshore, failed to appear at a telephone hearing convened by the Tribunal and did not respond to prior correspondence. The Tribunal proceeded to make a decision on the review without further action, pursuant to s 362B(1A)(a) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a Subclass 602 visa, specifically whether he was a person seeking to visit or remain in Australia temporarily for medical treatment or related purposes. The Tribunal was required to consider the applicant's stated intention to receive kidney stone treatment in Australia between 30 September 2019 and 30 December 2019, and to assess whether he met any of the alternative sub-criteria outlined in cl 602.212 of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant failed to satisfy the requirements of cl 602.212. In particular, the Tribunal found that the applicant did not meet the criteria for being medically unfit to depart Australia, as set out in cl 602.212(6), because he was not in Australia, had not turned 50, and there was no evidence of him having applied for a permanent visa in Australia or being medically unfit to depart as certified by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth. Given these findings, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant met cl 602.215.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a Subclass 602 Medical Treatment (Visitor) visa.