Tomas (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a Training and Research (Class GC) visa, Subclass 402, in the Occupational Trainee stream. The central dispute concerned whether the applicant met the sponsorship and nomination requirements under clause 402.221 of the Migration Regulations 1994, particularly in circumstances where the nominating organisation was no longer an approved sponsor.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant had satisfied the criteria for the Occupational Trainee stream, which necessitates either a Commonwealth-provided training arrangement or a valid nomination by an approved sponsor that has not ceased. Specifically, the Tribunal had to assess whether the nomination by Channel Tel Pty Ltd, trading as Oztech Australian Experts, was valid, given that this organisation's approval as a sponsor had expired and a subsequent application for re-approval had been refused.

The Tribunal found that Channel Tel Pty Ltd was an approved sponsor until 13 December 2015. The applicant's nomination by this entity occurred on 11 May 2016, after the sponsorship approval had lapsed. Furthermore, the Department refused to approve Channel Tel Pty Ltd as a sponsor on 19 February 2016, a decision later affirmed by the Tribunal on 21 December 2016. As the nomination was made by an entity that was not an approved sponsor at the time, and the applicant had not been nominated by the Commonwealth, the requirements of clause 402.221 were not met.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant the Subclass 402 visa.