Tan (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of Tan concerning an application for a Business Skills (Residence) (Class DF) visa, specifically the Subclass 892 (State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner) visa. The applicant, Mr. Tan, sought review of a decision made by the Department of Home Affairs. A key jurisdictional issue arose as Mr. Tan was outside the migration zone at the time his review application was lodged with the AAT.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether it had jurisdiction to hear the appeal, given the applicant's location outside the migration zone when the review application was filed. Furthermore, the Tribunal had to assess whether Mr. Tan met the substantive criteria for the visa, specifically whether he had operated a main business for at least two years, held an ownership interest in that business, and was actively involved in its operation during the relevant period. The Tribunal also needed to consider whether the business had any exporting activities, sales income for more than one year, and the extent of expenses reported in Business Activity Statements (BAS).

The Tribunal found that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the merits of the application because Mr. Tan was not within the migration zone at the time he lodged his application for review. Consequently, the Tribunal did not proceed to determine whether Mr. Tan met the visa criteria. The decision under review was affirmed on jurisdictional grounds.