1509498 (Migration)

The review applicant sought a review of a delegate's decision concerning a Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visa application. The core of the dispute revolved around whether the sponsorship requirements for the visa were met, specifically in light of limitations on the number of times a person could sponsor another individual for a partner visa.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the sponsorship requirements under clause 309.213 and clause 309.222 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations were satisfied. This involved assessing whether the review applicant, as the sponsor, met the age and citizenship criteria, and whether the sponsorship had been approved and remained in force, considering the limitations imposed by regulation 1.20J.

The Tribunal found that the sponsorship requirements under clause 309.213 were met as the review applicant was over 18 and an Australian citizen sponsoring the visa applicant. Regarding clause 309.222, the Tribunal considered regulation 1.20J, which limits a sponsor to a maximum of two approved sponsorships for partner visas in their lifetime, with a five-year waiting period after an earlier visa application if there was one previous sponsorship. The Tribunal noted that the review applicant had lodged her own Partner visa application on 22 February 2011, and as more than five years had passed since that date, the sponsorship limitation period had expired. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the requirements of clause 309.213 and clause 309.222 were met.

The Tribunal remitted the application for the Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visa for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that the visa applicant met the criteria under clause 309.213 and clause 309.222 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.