Tripathi (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of Mr. Tripathi, who sought review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to refuse his application for a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa, subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme), under the Direct Entry stream. The core of the dispute was whether Mr. Tripathi was the subject of an approved nomination as required by the relevant migration regulations.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine whether the applicant met the eligibility criteria for the subclass 187 visa, specifically the requirement that he be the subject of an approved nomination by an eligible regional employer. This involved an examination of the legislative framework governing this visa subclass and the evidence presented regarding the nomination process.

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision, finding that Mr. Tripathi had not been the subject of an approved nomination at the time the visa application was made. The Tribunal's reasoning was based on the plain wording of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), which stipulated that a nomination must be approved before an applicant can be considered for the visa. As no such approval had been granted in relation to Mr. Tripathi's application, he failed to satisfy a crucial criterion for the grant of the visa.