Singh (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Karanbir Singh, a citizen of India, who sought review of a delegate's decision to refuse him a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500. The visa application was initially refused on 9 March 2017, with the delegate finding Mr. Singh was not a genuine applicant. Mr. Singh lodged a review application with the Tribunal, which affirmed the delegate's decision on 31 May 2018, not on genuineness grounds, but because the applicant did not meet the enrolment criterion at that time. Mr. Singh then applied for review of the Tribunal's decision in the Federal Circuit Court, which found a jurisdictional error due to the Tribunal's failure to consider evidence suggesting the applicant was enrolled. Consequently, the Federal Circuit Court remitted the application back to the Tribunal for reconsideration.

The Tribunal was required to determine two primary issues: firstly, whether Mr. Singh met the enrolment criterion as stipulated in clause 500.211 of the Regulations, and secondly, whether he was a genuine applicant in accordance with clause 500.212. In reconsidering the application afresh, the Tribunal acknowledged that any enrolment information from the initial hearing in May 2018 would be outdated. Therefore, prior to the hearing on 4 June 2020, the Tribunal arranged for an up-to-date search of the Australian PRISMS database to ascertain Mr. Singh's current enrolment status.