THIYAGARAJAH (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the cancellation of the applicant's Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500. The dispute arose when the delegate of the Minister decided to cancel the applicant's visa on the grounds that he was not a genuine student. The applicant sought review of this decision.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the ground for cancellation existed, specifically whether the applicant was a genuine student as required by section 116(1)(fa)(i) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The Tribunal also had to consider whether, having found the ground for cancellation to be made out, the visa should be cancelled, taking into account all relevant circumstances.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant had not demonstrated he was a genuine student. While the applicant provided a medical certificate for his mother's illness and stated this caused him to be unable to concentrate on his studies, the dates of her illness did not fully correlate with the significant gap in his studies. Furthermore, the applicant did not approach his education provider or the Department to explain his situation. The Tribunal found that the applicant had not enrolled in a registered course of study for a considerable period and his subsequent enrolment was also cancelled. The Tribunal concluded that the grounds for cancelling the visa outweighed the grounds for not cancelling it.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's Student visa.