Singh (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Mr. Singh, the holder of a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) Subclass 573 Higher Education Sector visa. The dispute concerned the cancellation of his visa by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Mr. Singh contended that the cancellation was unwarranted, particularly in light of a facial injury he sustained.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr. Singh had breached condition 8202 of Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994, which mandates that a student visa holder must be enrolled in a registered course and maintain satisfactory course progress and attendance. If a breach was found, the Tribunal then had to consider whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa.

The Tribunal found that Mr. Singh had not complied with condition 8202(2) as he was not enrolled in a registered course from 30 July 2016. While Mr. Singh had suffered burns to his face in February 2016, he did not seek medical dispensation from his studies and subsequently ceased attending classes. He had also been working as an assistant to a licensed electrician, earning income, and had no clear explanation for his failure to re-enrol in registered courses of study over a significant period. The Tribunal considered the discretionary factors, including Mr. Singh's stated intention to re-enrol in an engineering course, but concluded that his prolonged period of non-enrolment and lack of a compelling reason to remain in Australia for study weighed against exercising discretion in his favour.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel Mr. Singh's visa.