Tanveer Singh (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by Tanveer Singh against the decision of the Minister to cancel his Subclass 573 Higher Education Sector visa. The cancellation was based on the ground that Mr Singh had failed to comply with a condition of his visa, specifically condition 8516, which requires a visa holder to continue to satisfy the criteria for the grant of their visa. The delegate found that Mr Singh had not met the criteria for a Subclass 573 visa since his enrolment in a Master of Business Administration degree was cancelled on 11 August 2015. The appeal was heard by Tigiilagi Eteuati, a Member of the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the ground for cancellation under section 116(1)(b) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) was made out, and if so, whether the discretion to cancel the visa should be exercised. To satisfy the criteria for a Subclass 573 visa, an applicant must either have a confirmation of enrolment in a relevant course at the time of application and decision, or at the time of decision be enrolled in or have an offer of enrolment in a course specified by the Minister. The Tribunal was required to determine if Mr Singh continued to meet these criteria following the cancellation of his enrolment.

The Tribunal reasoned that Mr Singh had failed to comply with visa condition 8516 because his enrolment in a Master of Business Administration degree was cancelled on 11 August 2015, meaning he no longer met the criteria for the grant of his visa. The Tribunal noted that Mr Singh did not provide a substantive response to the Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation, nor did he attend the hearing. This lack of engagement, coupled with his failure to maintain enrolment in an acceptable course, led the Tribunal to conclude that Mr Singh demonstrated a lack of will to successfully undertake higher education courses in Australia. While acknowledging potential disappointment for Mr Singh and his family, the Tribunal found that this lack of will significantly outweighed any hardship caused by the visa cancellation.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel Mr Singh's Subclass 573 Higher Education Sector visa.