Velaskar (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500, made by an applicant who had previously studied in Australia. The core dispute revolved around whether the applicant met the criterion of being enrolled in a course of study at the time of the decision. The applicant had a history of academic difficulties, including failing subjects in both a Bachelor of Information Technology and an Advanced Diploma of IT, leading to course cancellations and visa refusals.

The legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied clause 500.211 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994, which requires an applicant to be enrolled in a course of study at the time of the decision. The Tribunal was required to interpret "course of study" as defined in clause 500.111 as a "full-time registered course," and "registered course" as defined in regulation 1.03. The applicant did not claim to meet any alternative criteria.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant had not provided evidence of current enrolment in an approved course of study. Despite being granted an opportunity to submit further evidence after the hearing, the applicant failed to do so by the decision date. While acknowledging the applicant's claimed difficulties in providing evidence of funds due to events in India, the Tribunal found that this did not excuse the failure to meet the primary criterion of enrolment. Consequently, the Tribunal was not satisfied that clause 500.211 was met.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a Subclass 500 (Student) visa, as the applicant had not demonstrated that all the necessary criteria for the visa grant were satisfied. The applicant also did not claim to meet the criteria for a Subclass 590 (Student Guardian) visa.