Singh (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of Mr Singh, who sought to challenge the cancellation of his Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 573 Higher Education Sector. The dispute arose from the applicant's alleged failure to comply with the conditions of his visa, specifically condition 8202 of Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994. The delegate had cancelled the visa on the basis that Mr Singh was not enrolled in a registered course.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr Singh had breached condition 8202 of his visa. This condition requires a student visa holder to be enrolled in a registered course and to maintain satisfactory course progress and attendance. If a breach of this condition is established, the Tribunal must then consider whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa under section 116(1) of the Migration Act 1958. A further issue was whether the case should be referred to the Minister for consideration under section 351 of the Act.

The Tribunal found that Mr Singh had not complied with condition 8202(2) because he was not enrolled in a registered course from 26 March 2017 until 18 January 2018, when he enrolled in a new course. While the Tribunal acknowledged the applicant's explanations for the gap in his studies, including family health concerns and a property inheritance dispute, these circumstances did not negate the factual finding of non-compliance. The Tribunal also considered the applicant's request for referral to the Minister under section 351, but was not satisfied that a basis for such referral had been established.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel Mr Singh's visa. The applicant's request for referral to the Minister was not granted, and the Tribunal concluded that the cancellation decision was appropriate given the established breach of visa conditions.