Singh (Migration)

This matter concerned a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa, Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme), Direct Entry stream. The applicant sought review of a decision to refuse their nomination. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine whether the applicant's nominated position met the requirements of clause 187.233 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the nominated position had been approved, as required by the regulations for a Direct Entry stream visa. This involved assessing whether the position the subject of the visa application was the same as the position in the approved nomination, and whether the nominator was the prospective employer. The Tribunal also considered the timing of the visa application relative to the nomination approval and the absence of adverse information.

The Tribunal reasoned that for a Direct Entry stream visa, the nominated position must have been approved and not subsequently withdrawn. In this instance, the employer's nomination application was initially refused by a delegate but was subsequently approved by the Tribunal on 10 May 2018. The Tribunal was satisfied, based on the evidence before it, that the approved position was indeed the same as that which was the subject of the relevant nomination application and the visa application declaration. Consequently, the Tribunal found that the applicant met the requirements of clause 187.233.

Given these findings, the Tribunal remitted the visa application to the Minister for reconsideration, with a direction that the applicant met the criteria specified in clause 187.233.