Syed (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate). The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the English language proficiency requirements for the visa at the time of application.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant had satisfied clause 485.212 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause mandates that an application for a Subclass 485 visa must be accompanied by evidence of either having undertaken a specified language test and achieved the required score within a specified period, or holding a passport of a type specified by the Minister.

The Tribunal found that the applicant did not hold a passport of a specified type, thus clause 485.212(b) was not met. Regarding clause 485.212(a), the applicant provided evidence of an IELTS test result that had expired on 31 March 2019. The visa application was lodged on 22 April 2019, and the applicant conceded that at that time, he did not have a valid IELTS test result. Although the applicant subsequently undertook another IELTS test, this occurred after the application was lodged and the validity period for the required evidence had passed. Consequently, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the application was accompanied by the requisite evidence of English language proficiency.

As the applicant failed to meet the criteria under clause 485.212, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa.