Zahid (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of Mr. Abdul Haleem Zahid and other applicants seeking review of decisions to refuse them Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class RN) visas, specifically under the Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme) Direct Entry stream. The core dispute revolved around whether the nominated position for Mr. Zahid, a Retail Manager, had been approved, a prerequisite for the visa grant.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the nominated position met the requirements of clause 187.233 of the Migration Regulations 1994. This clause mandates that the position must be the subject of an approved nomination, that the employer must be the nominator, and that the nomination must not have been withdrawn and must not be subject to adverse information known to Immigration, or such information must be reasonably disregarded. Furthermore, the position must remain available to the applicant, and the visa application must be lodged within six months of the nomination's approval.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the fact that the application for approval of the nominated position made by the nominator, CSV INVESTMENTS PTY LTD, had been refused by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration. This refusal was subsequently affirmed by the AAT itself. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the nominator's application for the nominated position had not been approved, meaning the critical requirement of clause 187.233(3) was not satisfied. The Tribunal noted that it had invited the applicant to comment on this information but received no response.

As the primary applicant, Mr. Zahid, did not satisfy the primary criteria due to the unapproved nomination, the Tribunal found that the secondary applicants, who were family members, did not meet the criteria for being members of the family unit of a primary visa holder. Therefore, the Tribunal affirmed the decisions not to grant the Regional Employer Nomination (Permanent) visas to any of the applicants.