Tharayil (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Subclass 500 (Student) visa. The applicant had failed to provide requested information to the Department and subsequently to the Tribunal, specifically evidence of current enrolment in a course of study. The Tribunal was therefore tasked with determining whether the applicant met the criteria for the visa based on the information available to it.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criteria for a Subclass 500 (Student) visa, as set out in Schedule 2 to the Regulations. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the applicant met the requirements of clause 500.211, which mandates that an applicant be enrolled in a course of study, or satisfy one of the alternative conditions relating to postgraduate thesis marking, Foreign Affairs support, or Defence support.

The Tribunal reasoned that clause 500.211(a) requires an applicant to be enrolled in a course of study. In this instance, the Tribunal did not have before it evidence of the applicant's current enrolment. As the applicant did not claim to meet any of the alternative criteria under clause 500.211, the Tribunal was not satisfied that this essential criterion had been met. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa.