Singh (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr. Singh against the cancellation of his Subclass 573 Higher Education Sector (Temporary) visa. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection had cancelled Mr. Singh's visa on the grounds that he had failed to comply with Condition 8202(2)(a) of his visa, which required him to be enrolled in a registered course of study. The Tribunal was asked to determine whether the cancellation decision should be affirmed.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr. Singh had breached Condition 8202(2)(a) of his visa by ceasing to be enrolled in a registered course. If this ground for cancellation was established, the Tribunal then had to consider whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa, having regard to all relevant circumstances, including those raised by Mr. Singh in his response to the Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation.

The Tribunal found that Mr. Singh had breached Condition 8202(2)(a) as he had not been enrolled in a registered course since 13 February 2018, when his enrolment in a Bachelor of Accounting was cancelled. Despite Mr. Singh's explanations regarding study difficulties, language barriers, and attempts to enrol in lower-level courses, the Tribunal concluded that the ground for cancellation under s.116(1)(b) of the Migration Act 1958 was made out. After considering the circumstances, including Mr. Singh's submissions and relevant departmental policy, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel his visa.