Vishal (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by the applicant against the cancellation of his Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 573 (Higher Education Sector). The applicant's visa was cancelled on the grounds that he had breached condition 8202 of the Migration Regulations 1994 by failing to be enrolled in a registered course of study. The applicant had been notified of the intention to cancel his visa in January 2017, indicating he had not been enrolled in a registered course since March 2016, but he did not respond to this notice.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had breached condition 8202 of the Migration Regulations 1994, specifically subclause (2)(a) which requires a student visa holder to be enrolled in a registered course. If a breach was found, the Tribunal then had to consider whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa under section 116(1) of the Migration Act 1958. The Tribunal also considered the applicant's claims of depression, financial difficulties, and insufficient English language proficiency, as well as his stated intention to study.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not complied with condition 8202(2)(a) as he had not been enrolled in a registered course since March 2016. Despite the applicant's submissions at the hearing regarding his personal circumstances and his desire to study, the Tribunal was not satisfied that his present purpose for remaining in Australia was to study, particularly given his history of unsatisfactory academic progress and failure to complete courses. The Tribunal considered the length of the non-enrolment and the overall failure to successfully complete studies in Australia, apart from one six-month course, to be significant breaches.

Ultimately, after considering all the circumstances, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's visa.