Stevens (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of Stevens concerning a Subclass 186 Employer Nomination (Permanent) visa application under the temporary residence transition stream. The applicant, a baker, sought to have a decision affirmed that he did not meet the English language proficiency requirement for the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had demonstrated competent English language proficiency as required by the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth). Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the English language tests taken by the applicant satisfied the relevant criteria, particularly concerning the timing of those tests in relation to the visa application.

The Tribunal reasoned that Regulation 1.15(1) of the *Migration Regulations 1994* stipulated that an English language test must have been taken no more than three years before the date the application was made. The applicant had provided evidence of English language tests taken both more than three years prior to his application and after the application was lodged. Neither of these satisfied the regulatory requirement. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision that the applicant had not met the English language proficiency requirement for the visa.