Wong (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking review of a decision not to grant a Subclass 500 (Student) visa. The primary dispute concerned whether the applicant met the criteria for the visa, specifically the genuine temporary entrant requirement and, as the case progressed, the enrolment requirements.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant satisfied the genuine temporary entrant criterion under cl.500.212 and, more critically, the enrolment requirement under cl.500.211 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations. Clause 500.211 requires an applicant to be enrolled in a full-time registered course of study at the time of the decision.

The Tribunal accepted that the applicant was enrolled in a registered course of study at the time of the hearing. However, subsequent information obtained from the Provider Registration and International Student Management System (PRISMS) indicated that the applicant had completed that course and had not enrolled in any further studies. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and its potential impact on her visa application, explaining that this failure to maintain enrolment in a registered course was a reason for affirming the original decision. The Tribunal also advised that it might change the determinative issue to the enrolment requirement rather than the genuine temporary entrant criterion.

Ultimately, the Tribunal found that the applicant did not meet the enrolment criteria for the Subclass 500 (Student) visa. As the applicant did not claim to meet the criteria for a Subclass 590 (Student Guardian) visa, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.