Alfajora (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa, Subclass 820, by a citizen of the Philippines against an Australian citizen sponsor. The delegate had refused the visa application, finding insufficient evidence that the applicant was the spouse or de facto partner of the sponsor as defined by the *Migration Act 1994* (Cth) (the Act) and the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth) (the Regulations). The applicant and sponsor, both 24 years old, had married in March 2021, and had a newborn child.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the applicant met the criteria for the grant of the visa, specifically whether she was the spouse of the sponsor at the time of the visa application and at the time of the decision, as required by clauses 820.211 and 820.221 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations. This required determining if the parties were in a married relationship, which involves a valid marriage, a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of others, a genuine and continuing relationship, and cohabitation, pursuant to section 5F of the Act. The court was required to consider all circumstances of the relationship, including financial and social aspects, the nature of the household, and the parties' commitment to each other, as outlined in regulation 1.15A(3).

The court found that the parties were validly married, as evidenced by a marriage certificate. While there was limited evidence of joint ownership of assets or liabilities, the court was satisfied, based on transaction statements from the sponsor's individual account and the applicant's submissions, that there was evidence of pooling of financial resources and sharing of day-to-day household expenses, with the sponsor being the main financial provider. The court noted that considerable evidence was before it that had not been available to the original delegate.

Given the findings, the court remitted the application for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that the applicant met the criteria under clauses 820.211(a) and 820.221 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.