Singh (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of Mr. Singh and other applicants concerning their applications for Temporary Business Entry (Class UC) visas, specifically Subclass 457. The primary dispute revolved around whether the applicants met the requirements for this visa subclass, particularly in relation to an approved nomination.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the primary visa applicant satisfied the criteria set out in clause 457.223(4)(a) of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations. This clause mandates that there must be an approved nomination of an occupation relating to the applicant by a standard business sponsor, and that this approval must not have ceased. The Tribunal also considered the eligibility of secondary applicants, who were seeking to be granted the visa as family members of the primary applicant.

The Tribunal reasoned that a prior application for approval of a nomination for the position of Cook, made by Simi Traders Pty Ltd on behalf of the applicant, had been refused by a delegate of the Minister and this decision was affirmed by the Tribunal itself. Consequently, there was no approved nomination that had not ceased. The Tribunal noted that the Subclass 457 visa was repealed and closed to new applications from 18 March 2018, meaning it was no longer possible to make a new nomination for this visa subclass. As an approved nomination was a mandatory requirement for the visa, and no such nomination existed and could no longer be obtained, the primary applicant could not meet this essential criterion.

The Tribunal concluded that the requirements of clause 457.223(4)(a) were not met and could not be met. Furthermore, the secondary applicants did not meet the requirements of clause 457.321 as they were not members of the family unit of a Subclass 457 visa holder, nor did they meet the primary visa criteria in their own right. Accordingly, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the Temporary Business Entry (Class UC) visas to any of the applicants.