Zhong (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision to refuse a Visitor (Class FA) visa (Subclass 600). The applicant, who was in Australia at the time of application, had not held a substantive visa for some time prior to lodging her application. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Cth) was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied Schedule 3 criterion 3001, which requires an application to be made within 28 days of the applicant ceasing to hold a substantive visa. The applicant conceded that she did not meet this criterion, as her last substantive visa had ceased on 7 August 2020, and she lodged her Visitor visa application on 16 February 2021, well outside the 28-day timeframe.

The Tribunal found that the applicant was in Australia when she applied for the Visitor visa and did not hold a substantive visa at that time. Consequently, she was required to satisfy Schedule 3 criteria, including criterion 3001. As the applicant had not lodged her application within 28 days of her last substantive visa ceasing, she failed to meet criterion 3001. The Tribunal also considered the applicant's case in light of ministerial guidelines but decided not to refer the matter for Ministerial Intervention.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a Visitor (Class FA) visa.