YU (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by YU (the applicant) against the cancellation of his Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 500. The dispute arose from the applicant's failure to comply with condition 8202 of the Migration Regulations 1994, which mandates enrolment in a registered course and satisfactory course progress and attendance. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was tasked with determining whether the applicant had breached this condition and, if so, whether the discretion to cancel his visa should be exercised.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had breached condition 8202 of his student visa. This condition requires the visa holder to be enrolled in a registered course and to achieve satisfactory course progress and attendance. The Tribunal also had to consider the exercise of discretion regarding the cancellation of the visa, having regard to the circumstances of the case and relevant departmental guidelines.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had breached condition 8202(2) as he was not enrolled in a registered course. The applicant admitted to not passing the exams for a high school language preparation course he attended from July to December 2017 and had not been enrolled in any course since that time. While acknowledging the applicant's young age and the stress he experienced, the Tribunal concluded that it was his responsibility to comply with his visa conditions. The Tribunal weighed the factors favouring cancellation, including the breach of visa conditions and the applicant's lack of proactive steps to re-enrol, against factors favouring retention, such as his original purpose of study. Ultimately, the Tribunal determined that the factors weighing in favour of cancellation outweighed those against it.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's visa.