Sunderam Arulappu George (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) – Post-Study Work stream, by Mr Sunderam Arulappu George. The applicant sought review of a decision not to grant him this visa. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for the visa, specifically the Australian study requirement.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant held a qualification of a kind specified by the Minister for the purposes of clause 485.231 of the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause requires the applicant to have completed a specified course of study at an Australian Qualifications Framework level 7 or higher, such as a bachelor's degree, master's degree, or doctoral degree, and to have satisfied the Australian study requirement in the six months prior to the visa application.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had only completed an English language course in Australia. The applicant acknowledged that this course was not a qualification of the type specified in the relevant legislative instrument, IMMI 13/013. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy clause 485.231(1) of the Migration Regulations 1994. As this was the sole relevant subclass for the visa application, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.