Zhang (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for review by a visa applicant, identified as Zhang, concerning a Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa, Subclass 820 (Spouse). The Department had refused the applicant's visa, and the applicant sought review of this decision.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it had jurisdiction to hear the application for review. This depended on whether the applicant was within the "migration zone" at the time the application for review was lodged.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had departed Australia on 28 February 2017 and had not returned. Crucially, the applicant was not physically present in the migration zone when the decision to refuse the visa was made on 25 October 2018, nor was the applicant present in the migration zone when the application for review was made on 6 November 2018. The Tribunal concluded that, as the applicant was not in the migration zone at the relevant time, the application for review was not properly made under section 347 of the relevant legislation.

Consequently, the Tribunal determined that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the merits of the application for review.