Singh (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision by a delegate to refuse to grant a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500 (Student), to the applicant, Mr Singh. The applicant had applied for the visa to undertake study in Australia. The delegate had refused the visa on the basis that Mr Singh was not a genuine temporary entrant. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Singh met the enrolment requirements for the visa at the time of the Tribunal's decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant was enrolled in a course of study as required by clause 500.211 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause mandates that at the time of the decision, the applicant must be enrolled in a full-time registered course, which is defined as a course of educational training provided by an institution registered under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000. The applicant did not claim to meet any alternative criteria.

The Tribunal noted that it had invited the applicant to provide evidence of enrolment at least seven days before the hearing, and again at the hearing itself. The applicant confirmed that his last enrolment was in an English course in November 2018 and that he was not currently enrolled in any course of study in Australia. Consequently, the Tribunal found that the applicant had not provided any evidence of current enrolment and therefore did not meet the criteria for the grant of a subclass 500 visa. The applicant did not claim to meet the criteria for a subclass 590 visa.