Pushpinder Kaur, a University of Tasmania student has won her visa back in Administrative and Appeals Tribunal.
“The Tribunal remits the application for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa for reconsideration, with the direction that the applicant meets the following criteria for a Subclass 573 Higher Education Sector Visa,” the order reads.
Elated Kaur says that the tough time is over. “I was so depressed when I received the refusal of my visa. It was like my world was coming to an end. I am so happy now,” says Kaur who is doing her BBA from the University of Tasmania.
Kaur had arrived in Australia in July 2014 on a student visa. She applied for the extension in March 2016 and received a refusal in the following August.
“I was devastated. The reasons given were absurd. They said I was out of the country for more than 90 days and I had no intentions going back to India for I had no solid business plan. They said I had not paid my university fee,” says Kaur.
Pushpinder had changed her course so her previous Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) was cancelled and a new COE was issued.
“The cancellation created confusion but proper documents were provided to the department. And Pushpinder was out of Australia for 93 days during holidays, which is permitted,” says Mr. Dhiresh Kohli, a migration lawyer who represented Pushpinder Kaur.
Kohli suggests that a number of students facing issues because of the Genuine Temporary Entrant (GTE) criteria.
According to the Department of Home Affairs, “The genuine temporary entrant (GTE) requirement is an integrity measure to ensure that the student visa programme is used as intended and not as a way for international students to maintain ongoing residency in Australia.”
One must satisfy the department that he or she has a genuine intention to stay in Australia temporarily.
“Many genuine students face the heat because of some dishonest people,” says Kohli.
Questions were raised on Pushpinder Kaur’s intentions too but the Tribunal decided in her favour.
