Umoren (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by the applicant, Mr Umoren, against the decision of the Department of Home Affairs to refuse his application for a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa, Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate). The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had satisfied clause 485.212 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause requires that an application for a Subclass 485 visa be accompanied by evidence of either holding a specified passport or having undertaken an English language test within a prescribed period before the visa application was made, achieving specified scores.

The Tribunal found that the applicant did not hold a passport of a type specified in the relevant instrument, IMMI 15/062, and therefore did not satisfy subclause (b) of clause 485.212. The applicant had provided evidence of an IELTS test undertaken on 7 September 2019, which achieved the minimum required scores. However, the Tribunal noted that the visa application had been lodged prior to this test being undertaken. The relevant instrument stipulated that the English language test must have been undertaken within the three years preceding the visa application. As the test was completed after the application was lodged, it did not meet the requirements of clause 485.212(a). The Tribunal was therefore not satisfied that the applicant had provided the requisite evidence.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, concluding that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for the grant of a Subclass 485 visa.