Singla (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for review by Mr. Singla concerning a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500. Mr. Singla sought to have his application for review heard by the Tribunal, but the application was lodged significantly out of time. The central issue was whether the Tribunal possessed jurisdiction to consider the review application given its late lodgement.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it had jurisdiction to hear Mr. Singla's application for review, which was filed after the prescribed time limit. Mr. Singla appears to have sought to rely on the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic as a basis for excusing the late lodgement.

The Tribunal determined that the application for review was not received until 29 March 2022. As this date was outside the statutory timeframe for lodging such an application, the Tribunal concluded that it had no jurisdiction to consider the matter. The Tribunal's decision was based on the strict requirements of the relevant legislation regarding the time for making an application for review. Consequently, the Tribunal made no substantive decision on the merits of Mr. Singla's visa application.