An anonymous source tipped off migration authorities that Jatinder Singh Gill had falsely claimed to be living on the Border.

Gill had moved to Australia and in order to get a permanent visa, he had to live in a regional area for two years.

But the source told the Department of Immigration and Border Protection he was engaged in illegal cash-in-hand work in Melbourne, was falsely claiming to work for a Border trolley collection company, and rented the Wodonga home without actually living in it.

Gill also wrongly claimed to have lived at a home on Butterworth Place.

The source said Gill had never paid tax on his income and had a friend who committed a similar fraud and was sent back to India.

It had been claimed that Gill was paying money to a business said to employ him so they would not notify immigration authorities. 

The department was told Gill paid rent on the Lawrence Street home but it was kept vacant. 

The source said he was actually working at a hotel in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin, and was living in Clayton South.  

A decision to refuse Gill's visa application in February 2015 led to a series of appeals, starting with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. 

Payslips and banks records suggested Gill wasn't in Wodonga when he claimed. 

The tribunal found he was not a reliable witness. 

Gill had the visa decision overturned in the Federal Circuit Court last June, but the Federal Court on Tuesday affirmed the initial decision to refuse the visa. 

The department did not respond to questions by Wednesday afternoon. 

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