Migration agent found unfit to give migration advice

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal of Australia has upheld a decision by Australia's regulatory body for migration agents, finding a Sydney based migration agent, Ketan Vallabhbhai Patel, not a fit and proper person to give migration advice.

Source: SBS Vietnamese

The Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA) had imposed the sanction upon Mr Ketan Vallabhbhai Patel on 26 September 2017, after it was found that he failed "to act with competence and diligence with respect to the substantive aspects" of a client's visa application.

Ketan Patel challenged MARA's decision seeking a review of the suspension of his registration as a migration agent for a period of 18 months.

The tribunal found that Mr Patel breached the code of conduct.

The case is related to a PR visa application lodged on behalf of an Indian national in July 2015. According to the AAT's decision, Mr Patel was “listed as the authorised recipient for the Complainant, and received (and responded to) an acknowledgement of the application having been lodged.” The Department of Immigration and Border Protection refused the grant of visa to the particular applicant.

Notification of the refusal was sent to Mr Ketan Patel's email, according to the judgement. Mr Patel contends that he forwarded each of these emails to his associate in Mumbai Mr Sandesh Mainkar.

However, the tribunal found that the particular client "was not made aware that the PR visa had been refused, and instead was informed that his application was being processed”.

The client found out about the refusal only when he applied for a visitor's visa to Australia. He lodged a complaint against Mr Patel.

Mr Patel accepted that the problem arose because he had allowed his associates in India to use his MARN (Migration Agent Registration Number) and contact details in submitting visa applications “because this meant that it was [his] responsibility to make sure the visa applications went smoothly”.

The tribunal observes Mr Patel, by licencing his MARN and allowing his associates to enter into agreements with prospective clients on behalf of the Applicant’s business, in reality, acting as the Complainant’s migration agent in every respect.

"The parties in India were mere intermediaries," said the tribunal.

The tribunal concluded, "Having regard to the objective seriousness of the Applicant’s conduct and the lack of insight displayed by the Applicant in this regard, the Tribunal considers the Applicant is not a fit and proper person to give migration advice," agreeing that the sanction imposed upon Mr Patel (being his suspension for a period of 18 months, with conditions) is an appropriate sanction.

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