SINGH (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Singh, an applicant whose Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 573, was cancelled. The dispute centred on whether the applicant had breached condition 8202 of the Migration Regulations 1994, which requires a student visa holder to be enrolled in a registered course.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant had complied with condition 8202, specifically whether they remained enrolled in a registered course of study. If a breach was found, the Tribunal then had to consider whether to exercise its discretion to affirm the cancellation of the visa, as the ground for cancellation did not mandate mandatory cancellation.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had breached condition 8202(2) as they had not been enrolled in a registered course since 24 August 2016. The applicant had been issued a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation and invited to respond, but no response was received. In exercising its discretion, the Tribunal noted the applicant's lack of engagement with the process, the significant and unexplained period of non-enrolment, and that the applicant was not fulfilling the purpose for which the visa was granted. These factors, weighed against the absence of any information regarding hardship or mitigating circumstances provided by the applicant, led the Tribunal to conclude that the reasons for cancellation outweighed the reasons for not cancelling the visa.

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