ABEDALA (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visa, subclass 309. The core dispute revolved around whether the visa applicant was the spouse of the review applicant, an Australian citizen, at the time of the visa application and at the time of the decision. The Tribunal was required to determine if the parties were in a married relationship that met the criteria set out in section 5F(2) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the parties were validly married and, if so, whether they demonstrated a mutual commitment to a shared life as a married couple to the exclusion of all others, that the relationship was genuine and continuing, and that they lived together or did not live separately and apart on a permanent basis. In assessing these matters, the Tribunal had to consider all circumstances of the relationship, including the financial and social aspects, the nature of their household arrangements, and their commitment to each other, as outlined in regulation 1.15A of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The Tribunal found that while the marriage certificate was difficult to read regarding the exact date, credible evidence, including the review applicant's travel records, indicated that the marriage occurred on 12 November 2013, not 2014 as initially stated in a statutory declaration. This corrected date aligned with the review applicant's presence in Ethiopia at the time of the marriage. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the visa applicant satisfied the criteria for the grant of the visa.

The Tribunal remitted the decision not to grant the visa applicant a Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visa for reconsideration, with a direction that the visa applicant meets the relevant criteria for a subclass 309 visa.