Aoh (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the visa holder's Partner (Residence) (Class BS) visa, subclass 801. The dispute concerned whether the visa holder had provided incorrect information in her visa application and on her incoming passenger cards, thereby breaching sections 101(b) and 102(b) of the Migration Act 1958. The visa holder had failed to declare a criminal conviction for credit card fraud in Singapore, for which she was sentenced to four years imprisonment, serving two years and eight months.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the visa holder had failed to comply with the legislative requirements by providing incorrect answers in her visa application and on her passenger cards. It also needed to consider whether the visa grant was based on incorrect information and, in light of the non-compliance, whether the visa should be cancelled, taking into account the visa holder's present circumstances.

The Tribunal found that the visa holder had indeed provided incorrect information by failing to declare her criminal conviction and her travel to Singapore. It reasoned that a sentence of imprisonment for 12 months or more constitutes a substantial criminal record, and the visa holder's failure to disclose this, coupled with her failure to declare travel to Singapore, indicated an attempt to conceal her criminal history. The Tribunal considered that these circumstances, along with the repeated failure to declare her criminal history on numerous incoming passenger cards, outweighed other considerations, such as the visa holder's ongoing de facto relationship with an Australian citizen.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the visa holder's subclass 801 visa, concluding that the nature of the breach and the circumstances of the non-compliance justified the cancellation.