WANG (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision to refuse an employer nomination for a Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visa, Subclass 187, Direct Entry stream. The applicant was a Travel Agency Manager, and the nominator sought to have the nomination approved. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the nominator had satisfied the relevant criteria for the nomination.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the employer nomination met the requirements of clause 187.233 of the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause, as applicable, stipulated that the position must be the subject of an approved nomination in the Direct Entry stream, located in regional Australia, and must be the position declared in the visa application. Further requirements included that the nominator must be the prospective employer, the nomination must have been approved and not withdrawn, there must be no adverse information known to Immigration about the nominator or associated persons (or such information must be reasonable to disregard), the position must remain available, and the visa application must have been made within six months of the nomination's approval.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to refuse the nomination, finding that the nominator had failed to satisfy regulation 5.19(4). Despite receiving submissions from the employer's representative addressing business complexity, financial performance, and the applicant's qualifications, the Tribunal concluded that the core requirement of an approved nomination had not been met. The Tribunal noted that a prerequisite for visa grant was an approved nomination, and as this had not been achieved, the applicants could not satisfy the visa requirements. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visas to the applicants.