Assaad (Migration)

[2021] AATA 2963

Assaad (Migration) [2021] AATA 2963 (16 July 2021)

DECISION RECORD

DIVISION:Migration & Refugee Division

REVIEW APPLICANT:  Mr Omar M Assaad

VISA APPLICANTS:  Mr Mohamad Assaad
Mrs Aycha Darwich

CASE NUMBER:  1911044

HOME AFFAIRS REFERENCE:               BCC2018/6195215

MEMBER:Rosa Gagliardi

DATE:16 July 2021

PLACE OF DECISION:  Australian Capital Territory

DECISION:The Tribunal affirms the decision not to grant the visa applicants Visitor (Class FA) visas.

Statement made on 16 July 2021 at 4:06pm

CATCHWORDS

MIGRATION – Visitor (Class FA) visa – Subclass 600 (Visitor) – genuine temporary entrant – applicant’s positive migration history – political and civil instability in Lebanon – economic crisis – extensive property holdings – decision under review affirmed    

LEGISLATION

Migration Act 1958, s 65
Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 2, cls 600.211, 600.231

STATEMENT OF DECISION AND REASONS

APPLICATION FOR REVIEW

1. This is an application for review of a decision made by a delegate of the Minister for Home Affairs on 25 February 2019 to refuse to grant the visa applicants Visitor (Class FA) visas under s 65 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) (the Act).

2. The visa applicants applied for the visas on 16 January 2019. At the time the visa applications were lodged, Class FA contained one subclass, Subclass 600 (Visitor), with a number of different streams. In this case the applicants applied for the visas seeking to satisfy the primary criteria in the Sponsored Family stream.

3. The criteria for a Subclass 600 visa are set out in Part 600 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) (the Regulations). Relevantly to this case, they include cl 600.211, which requires the visa applicant to satisfy the Minister that the visa applicant genuinely intends to stay temporarily in Australia for the purpose for which the visa is granted.

4. The delegate refused to grant the visas, on the basis that the visa applicants did not meet cl 600.211.

5. The review applicant/sponsor appeared before the Tribunal on 5 July 2021 to give evidence and present arguments. The Tribunal also received oral evidence from the visa applicants in Lebanon.  The Tribunal hearing was conducted with the assistance of an interpreter in the Arabic (Lebanese) and English languages.

6. The Tribunal exercised its discretion to hold the hearing by telephone. The hearing was held during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tribunal determined it was reasonable to hold a hearing by telephone, having regard to the nature of this matter and the individual circumstances of the applicant. The Tribunal also had regard to the Tribunal’s objective of providing a mechanism of review that is fair, just, economical and quick, and the delay to the matter if the hearing was not to be conducted by telephone.

7. The review applicant was represented in relation to the review by his registered migration agent. The representative attended the Tribunal hearing.

8. For the following reasons, the Tribunal has concluded that the decision under review should be affirmed.

   CONSIDERATION OF CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE

9. The issue in this case is whether cl 600.211 is met, which requires the Tribunal to be satisfied that the visa applicant genuinely intends to stay temporarily in Australia for the purpose for which the visa is granted, having regard to whether the applicant has complied substantially with the conditions to which the last substantive visa, or any subsequent bridging visa, held by the applicant was subject; whether the applicant intends to comply with the conditions to which the Subclass 600 visa would be subject; and any other relevant matter.

10. In the present case, the visa applicants seek the visas for the purposes of visiting their (the sponsor’s) brother and family. This is a purpose for which a visa in the Sponsored Family stream may be granted: cl 600.231.

    cl.600.211(a)

11. In considering whether a visa applicant genuinely intends to stay temporarily in Australia for  this purpose, the Tribunal must consider whether he or she has complied substantially with the conditions of the last substantive visa held, or any subsequent bridging visa (cl 600.211(a)).

12. The Tribunal takes into account that the first-named visa applicant travelled to Australia in 2003 and 2004 and it would appear that he abided by his conditions on those occasions.  The Tribunal places weight on the first-named visa applicant’s favourable migration history.

13. The Tribunal also takes into consideration that the sponsor’s family members have a history generally of travelling to Australia without breaching their Visitor visa conditions.  The Tribunal has sighted evidence as follows:

    ·      Ali Assaad (the first-named visa applicant’s brother) and his wife Jamila Darwish, arrived on 7 March 2015 and departed on 31 May 2015.

    ·       Mahmoud Assaad (the first-named visa applicant’s brother) and his wife Fatme Youssef, arrived on 23 September 2019, and departed on 29 February 2020.

    ·       

    Fattoum Mustafa (the first-named visa applicant’s mother) arrived on

    
    

    20 November 1998 and departed on 9 December 1998.

14. The Tribunal considers that the sponsor’s family has a positive history in terms of past visits to Australia, and it should be noted that the compliance occurred even during times of civil upheaval in Lebanon. 

15. Nonetheless, the Tribunal is concerned that as the country information below demonstrates, Lebanon is experiencing a matrix of unprecedented conditions, even for a country which has a lengthy history of significant hardship.  The Tribunal notes that the first-named visa applicant’s brother and wife visited Australia as recently as September 2019, however, it is pertinent that Mahmoud and Fatme departed Australia just as the COVID-19 pandemic was unfolding and prior to an awareness globally of its seriousness.  The Tribunal considers that the timing of the applicant’s brother’s visit to Australia in 2019 is relevant because on return to Lebanon in February 2020, the applicant’s brother and sister-in-law were not yet to know how catastrophic the virus was going to be in Lebanon, in combination with the economic circumstances in that country, the political and civil instability, and the consequences of the explosion of the Bay of Beirut as reflected in the country information below.

16. While the Tribunal places weight on the applicant’s and family’s past compliance in general, the Tribunal considers that the current situation in Lebanon is particularly concerning and that the situation is not directly comparable to previous crises.

    cl.600.211(b)

17. The Tribunal must also consider whether the visa applicant intends to comply with the conditions to which the Subclass 600 visa would be subject (cl 600.211(b)). The conditions to which a visa in the circumstances of this case would be subject are as follows:

    ·8101 – must not work in Australia

    ·8201 – must not engage in study or training in Australia for more than 3 months

    ·8503 – not entitled to a substantive visa, other than a protection visa, while remaining in Australia

    ·8531 – must not remain in Australia after end of permitted stay.

18. The first-named visa applicant is 60 years of age, as is the second-named visa applicant.  It is arguable that they are still of working age, even if in the later years. The Tribunal does not consider, however, that coming to Australia to work is a significant motivating factor for the applicants to visit Australia.  Similarly, the Tribunal does not have concerns the applicants are attempting, through the Sponsored Family Visitor visa, to change their status to be able to study in Australia for either the short or longer term.

19. The applicants are parents to 9 offspring who are all adults.  The youngest is 18 years of age.  5 of the applicants’ children are married and 4 are unmarried.  In terms of dependents the applicants have two: an 18-year-old student son and a 21-year-old daughter who is unmarried and unemployed.  It is claimed that all the other children are employed.  Given the country information below, the Tribunal cannot underestimate the value of obtaining a migration outcome for the parties’ themselves as well as for their two dependent children given the future of Lebanon appears particularly volatile. 

20. The Tribunal has had regard to the evidence submitted to the Tribunal to support arguments that the applicants are well-placed financially in Akkar, Lebanon:

    ·Evidence by Chamber of Commerce Industry & Agriculture of Tripoli & Northern Lebanon indicating the first-named visa applicant was registered and held a “Commercial record”.

    ·The first-named visa applicant’s registration card with the Chamber of Commerce
      Industry & Agriculture of Tripoli & Northern Lebanon.

    ·Letter from the Mayor, dated 7 December 2018, stating that the first-named visa applicant owns a house in Kabhit which consists of two floors where he and his family live.  The Mayor also indicates that the first-named visa applicant owns a building which consists of four floors, divided into six apartments, that are rented to Syrian refugees.  In addition, it is claimed by the Mayor that the applicant owns four commercial stores, three of them are rented and the fourth is occupied by the first-named visa applicant for commercial purposes where he sells and buys paints and tools.  It is also claimed that the applicant owns a piece of land of an area of about 10,000m2 which is planted with olive trees.

21. When asked at hearing about the first-named visa applicant’s evidence of savings, the migration agent asserted that the family kept their cash at home as did many people.  The applicant confirmed that he kept money at home and that he had to withdraw his money from the bank because the government would otherwise waste it or he might lose it.  He stated that he had a lot of money at home – 300 Million Lebanese Pounds (the equivalent of roughly of 267,248.10 AUD).

22. The Tribunal noted that the Mayor’s letter was not accompanied by any primary documents such as titles for properties and agricultural land.  The migration agent asked the Tribunal whether it was calling into question the honesty of the Mayor.  As the Tribunal explained, it the Mayor may have been happy to reflect what the applicant had told him he owned and that without the documentation to support his claims the Tribunal may have doubts.  The Tribunal also notes that the Mayor’s letter is now outdated.

23. Nonetheless, the Tribunal is prepared to accept that the applicant has an extensive property portfolio and agricultural lands as claimed.

24. Notwithstanding, the Tribunal would have expected that the applicant could have provided some documentation regarding the profitability of his paint business, for example, and the income generated by his commercial and residential properties.  Given the economic situation of Lebanon currently which is referred to as being in free fall, the limited information provided about the applicant’s income raises concerns about his income earning capacity in the current climate in Lebanon.

25. The Tribunal has also taken into account the assertions that the applicant has a large amount of cash at his home.  The Tribunal is not in a position to reach conclusive findings about this claim given the limited evidence before it regarding the applicant’s economic status overall.  In any event, even accepting that the applicant has accumulated vast quantities of cash which is kept in his home, the very fact the applicant has no confidence in the banking system or the government in Lebanon is reason for the Tribunal to not be satisfied that the applicant genuinely intends to stay in Australia temporarily for the purpose for which the visa is granted.  The state of affairs where members of the public are fearful of the government misusing private funds and possibly losing them, is consistent with the general country information which reflects the degree to which the economic situation in Lebanon is in crisis.  

26. Similarly, even if the Tribunal accepts that the applicant has such vast savings in cash, the country information below shows that the cost of basic goods is such that even meat is becoming a luxury due to the dramatic devaluation of the Lebanese pound.[1] 

    [1] UPI World News, ‘Lebanon on brink of hunger crisis, meat is a ‘luxury’’, Dalal Saoud, 1 April 2021, Lebanon on brink of hunger crisis; meat is a 'luxury' - UPI.com, accessed on 15 July 2021.

27. The first-named visa applicant also appears to act as a money lender and stated that he was owed a lot of money from people and that therefore, nominally, his savings were even greater.  The Tribunal has limited information before it regarding this trade but is prepared to accept that the applicant is owed money from persons.  The Tribunal has concerns, however, that given the economic state of the country, it is difficult to see a situation where people will be readily able to repay the first-named visa applicant.

28. The applicant asserted several times over that things were really good where he lived because he was in a rural area and because of the produce he reaped from his lands, his family never went without.  Together with his other businesses, the state of the economy did not have an adverse impact on his family.  He stated that it was only in the cities that people were affected by the economy.  

29. For the applicant’s business to run, however, he would need to purchase paint and tools to on-sell.  The Tribunal has limited evidence before it that the paint shop has weathered the economic crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic given the devaluation of the Lebanese Pound.  The country information would also indicate that agricultural products are also becoming less profitable and that the sector as a whole is struggling.  Moreover, there is limited evidence to support the claim that the first-named visa applicant is able to employ two Syrians in his shop.

30. The Tribunal finds it difficult to be re-assured that everything in the first-named visa applicant’s area is going “really well” in view of the multiple factors impinging on the country as a whole, and the more impoverished northern area of Lebanon, Akkar, as set out in the country information.  This is even though the first-named visa applicant dismissed claims that Akkar was adversely affected, stating that the negative impacts of what was happening to the rest of the country, only affected the Akkar region by a tenth (10 per cent).   On the basis of the country information the Tribunal is not persuaded that this is the case.

31. The following country information was put to the sponsor and applicant at hearing:

    Lebanon is facing a major socioeconomic crisis due to years of mounting public debt and a high fiscal deficit.  The socioeconomic humanitarian crisis is driven by Lebanese pound devaluation, increased unemployment and poverty, business closures, inflation, limited access to foreign exchange and imports, and decreased foreign remittances.  While the entire country has felt the economic hardship, the already poor and vulnerable Lebanese and refugee populations have been particularly affected.

    …Crisis conditions were further aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Beirut port explosion in August 2020.

    The economic crisis has increased the poverty rate, which reached 45% in 2019 from 30% in 2018 and 27.4% in 2011-2012.  It is expected that more that half of the population will be living in poverty by 2021.  In the second half of 2020, roughly 35% of all Lebanese households faced challenges accessing food and meeting other basic needs, with 49% of households experiencing food shortages and 22% consuming inadequate dies (i.e poor and borderline food consumption).  The unemployment rate reached 49% in 2020 – a drastic increase from 11% in 2019.

    The Lebanese pound (LBP) hit a new low this week because of further economic deterioration and depletion of state budget, losing about 33% of its value in one month…Fuel is imported at a higher rate that the official one, resulting in higher petrol prices; costly petrol will likely push the cost of basic goods even higher.  Depreciation of the Lebanese pound and worsening living conditions have sparked demonstrations across the country, particularly in Tripoli…People from North, Akkar, Baalbek El Hermel and El Nabatiyeh governorates reported the highest level of food insecurity.  Tentative projections suggest that over half the population in Lebanon is below the poverty line.
    …..

    The Lebanese government subsidises fuel, flour, medications, and other essential commodities to maintain affordable prices of basic products. In late 2020, the governor of Lebanon’s Central Bank publicly stated that depleting foreign currency reserves were likely to push the state to remove subsidies. Recent public statements suggested that resources for subsidies are likely to last up to approximately June 2021, depending on how much money remains in the foreign reserve.

    The expected deterioration in living conditions, driven by the currency depreciation and subsidy removal, is likely to drive further protests across Lebanon. The rapid and unprecedented currency depreciation, which has reached 15,000 Lebanese pounds to 1 USD, has already led to the re-ignition of protests in March 2021.[2]

    [2] ACAPS, Lebanon, 18 May 2021, Lebanon Socioeconomic crisis | ACAPS, accessed on 15 July 2021.

32. Unfortunately, the country information above is corroborated consistently.  The World Bank has reported recently, “Lebanon is enduring a severe and prolonged economic depression.  According to the latest World Bank Economic Monitor (LEM) released today, the economic and financial crisis is likely to rank in the top 10, possibly top 3, most severe crises episodes globally since the mid-nineteenth century.  In the face of colossal challenges, continuous policy inaction and the absence of a fully functioning executive authority threaten already dire socio-economic conditions and a fragile social peace with no clear turning point in the horizon”.[3]

    [3] The World Bank, ‘Lebanon sinking into One of the Most Severe Global Crises Episodes, amidst Deliberate Inaction’, 1 June 2021, Lebanon Sinking into One of the Most Severe Global Crises Episodes, amidst Deliberate Inaction (worldbank.org), accessed on 15 July 2021.

33. The World Bank has also pronounced “With a history of a prolonged civil war and multiple conflicts – Lebanon is identified by the World Bank as a Fragility, Conflict & Violence (FCV) State…”. [4]

    [4] Ibid.

34. The Tribunal also put to the applicant a report concerning how the dire economic situation is affecting individuals as a whole and making Lebanon “unlivable”:

    Beirut - Ibrahim Arab waits in line several hours a day in the hot summer sun to buy gas for his taxi. 

    When he’s not working, the 37-year-old father of two drives from one Beirut pharmacy to another, looking for baby formula for his 7-month-old son – any he can find – even though the infant got severe diarrhea and vomiting from an unfamiliar brand.

    He worries what would happen if his children got really sick.  Once among the best in the region, Lebanon’s hospitals are struggling amid the country’s economic and financial crisis that has led to daily power outages that last for hours, shortages of diesel fuel for backup generators, and a lack of medical equipment and drugs.
    ……

    After 20 months of suffering with no end in sight, a new reality is setting in for most of Lebanon’s 6 million people.  Days filled with severe shortages – from spare parts for cars to medicine, fuel and other basic goods in the import dependent country.
    …

    “We really are in hell,” tweeted Firas Abiad, director general of Rafik Hariri University Hospital, which leads the country’s coronavirus fight.  Despite a heat wave, the hospital decided Monday to turn off the air conditioning, except n medical departments.
    …
    The situation has become critical in recent weeks, with scuffles and shootings at gas pumps including one in the northern city of Tripoli, where the son of the station’s owner was killed.

    The country has been without a working government since Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s Cabinet resigned days after the massive explosion at Beirut’s port on Aug.4 2020…
    …
    Many rely on relatives and friends abroad to send medicine and baby formula…

    To avoid waiting for hours, some pay people to fill their car for them.  Others take their laptops and work from inside their vehicles in the lines that stretch for blocks and are known as the “queues of humiliation”.
    …
    On Wednesday, parliament approved a ration card system that would give some 500,000 poor families about $93 for a month for a period of one year.  It is not yet clear how the estimated $556 million project, which aims to replace the subsidy system, will be financed.
    
    Arab the taxi driver, is bracing for when the temporary solutions fall away and the crisis worsens. 
    
    
    He recently had to fix the brakes on his car, and his engine needed a spare part.  That cost him more than twice the minimum monthly wage in Lebanon.
    
    

    [5]

    “I wish I had the opportunity to leave.  This country is unlivable”, Arab said.[5]

1. The applicant stated that he was aware of the shooting referred to above but that it was not related to the shortages in fuel and instead concerned revenge killings by different families in the area.  Even if this were to be the case, it is clear that the fuel crisis stemming from Lebanon’s currency losing over 90 per cent of its value in two years, is having serious consequences.[6]

   [6] The Financial Times, Opinion Lebanon, ‘Fuel Shortages are driving Lebanon to the brink’, Chloe Cornish, 21 July 2021, Fuel shortages are driving Lebanon to the brink | Financial Times (ft.com), accessed on 16 July 2021.

2. In terms of agriculture, farmers are also facing difficulties, even though the first-named visa applicant denied this was the case:

   Farmers, who mostly farm on a part-time basis, face high input costs and low output prices.   Most inputs, including seeds, fertilizers, plant protection materials and feed ingredients are imported by private agri-business companies.  National agricultural support programmes are limited and they do not necessarily target directly the poor farmers.  As no formal agricultural credit is available, private agri-business companies have provided season credit and extension services to farmers.
   ….
   

   [7] Food Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations Special Report, ‘FAO Mission to Assess the Impact of the Financial Crisis on Agriculture in the Republic of Lebanon’, 21 September 2020, Special Report – FAO Mission to Assess the Impact of the Financial Crisis on Agriculture in the Republic of Lebanon, accessed on 16 July 2021.

   On 16 March 2020, the Government of Lebanon declared a State of General Mobilization in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, halting all non-essential commercial activity.  The COVID-19 outbreak aggravates the already challenging situation and adds another layer to the existing structural problems the economy is facing.[7]

3. As put to the applicant at hearing Beirut’s port explosion has exacerbated Lebanon’s economic crisis as the country is import dependent.  The government’s levels of debt have for years been among the highest in the world, as were the current account deficits and the country was borrowing heavily to pay for imports.[8]

   [8] The Conversation, ‘How Beirut’s port explosion exacerbates Lebanon’s economic crisis’, 6 August 2020, How Beirut's port explosion exacerbates Lebanon's economic crisis (theconversation.com), accessed on 15 July 2021.

4. A particularly challenging situation has been made far worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Medicin Sans Frontieres (MSF) refers to how these overlapping crises have exacerbated people’s vulnerability and pushed thousands into poverty.[9]  This has resulted in a growing number of Lebanese people knocking on MSF clinics’ doors unable to cover their medical fees anymore – particularly in remote areas.[10]  Further, the frail public health system, which was already facing regular shortages of drugs and other medical supplies due to the financial crisis, has been further impacted.[11]

   [9][9] MSF, ‘Overlapping crises in Lebanon increase needs and worsen access to care’, 8 January 2021, Lebanon | Overlapping crises increase needs and worsen access to care | MSF, accessed on 15 July 2021.

   [10] ibid.

   [11] Ibid.

5. Information shows that the Akkar region has not been immune to the COVID pandemic. 

   The COVID-19 outbreak and related containment measures have pushed nearly one out of every three Lebanese into unemployment so far, while one in five respondents saw their salary being reduced. Lebanese respondents living in Akkar were among the highest to report either losing their jobs or having a reduced income due to COVID-19…

   Economic sectors that have been the most impacted are construction as well as services and sales (incl. accommodation and tourism, restaurants and food services). Across all three population groups assessed, the main reason for disruption of work activities was that employers had to close businesses or were forced to reduce staff. Syrians were over proportionally affected by these layoffs.[12]

   [12] Reliefweb, ‘Assessing the impact of the Economic and COVID-19 Crises in Lebanon’, June 2020, Assessing the Impact of the Economic and COVID-19 Crises in Lebanon - June 2020 - Lebanon | ReliefWeb, accessed 16 July 2021.

6. Historically, the Akkar area has been known as one of the country’s deprived regions, with severe poverty.[13] Akkar being the poorest of Lebanon’s governorates, shares a 100km border with Syria, which has meant an influx of refugees have already placed burdens on the fragile infrastructure of the area.[14] Even before the Port of Beirut blast, the arrival of COVID-19 and the current serious economic crisis:

   The humanitarian needs in Lebanon today are undoubtedly huge, for both Syrian refugees and the Lebanese host communities. With the increasing influx of Syrian refugees, particularly from August 2011 onwards, Akkar’s community, which is known to be one of the poorest communities in Lebanon, has largely felt the pinch.
   …..

   For example, Akkar has the highest poverty rate in the country, amounting to 63.3% of its population. The region has been historically neglected and registers the worst household conditions in Lebanon after Hermel. The majority of Akkar’s villages receive electricity from Electricité du Liban, but not all houses are connected to the electricity grid. In addition, the region ranks last in residential accessibility to the public water supply, despite its natural water resources; running water is taken from artesian wells or private water networks. There are many solid waste burning sites and dumps in the public environment, given that, in some towns, there is no garbage collection system provided by the municipality or private contractors. Public transportation is lacking and car ownership is very low. This renders schools, hospitals, and basic services difficult to access. Local inhabitants, hence, say that political candidates buy votes by promising new roads, which are rarely maintained.[15]

   [13] Reliefweb, “Lebanon: North & Akkar Governorates Profile (October 2018), Lebanon: North & Akkar Governorates Profile (October 2018) - Lebanon | ReliefWeb, accessed on 15 July 2021.

   [14] Ibid.

   [15][15][15] Civil Society Knowledge Centre, ‘The Everyday Experience of Humanitarianism in Akkar villages’, Estella Carpi, The Everyday Experience of Humanitarianism in Akkar Villages | Civil Society Knowledge Centre (civilsociety-centre.org), accessed on 15 July 2021.

7. It also appears that tensions are increasingly materializing into violent incidents mirroring the fragile tensions landscape and, “The North and Akkar shows the most worrying trajectory across all areas based on competition over resources, political differences, and general communal insecurity.  Frequent clashes are reportedly becoming more aggravated”. [16]

   [16] Inter-Agency Coordination Lebanon, ‘Current Operational Environment in Lebanon (Dec 2020), Document - Lebanon: Inter-Agency - Situation Update - December 2020 (unhcr.org), accessed on 15 July 2021.

8. The Tribunal appreciates that it must assess each case on its merits and not simply apply the country information over the profile of an applicant indiscriminately.  Nonetheless, the Tribunal considers that Lebanon is at a particular stage in its history which is testing even the most resilient of populations.  The limited information regarding the applicant’s current financial status, together with his home area being the Akkar area, the Tribunal has concerns that the applicant does not on this occasion have a genuine intention to stay temporarily in Australia for the purposes for which the visa is granted.

9. The Tribunal has taken into account that the applicant has a large family, including 14 grandchildren to return to in Akkar, nonetheless, the youngest is 18 years of age and if the applicants were able to gain a migration outcome, they could assist their family overseas and might ensure that any dependent children could migrate and start a fresh future away from a country which many commentators have referred to as being “on the brink”. 

10. It was argued at hearing that culturally it would not be appropriate to leave their unmarried 21-year -old daughter for a lengthy period.  Nonetheless, the Tribunal considers that adherence to cultural dictums would be far outweighed by securing a secure life in a country such as Australia, even if it meant an extended period away from her parents until they could sponsor her.  In any event she has brothers and sisters in Lebanon who could act as her chaperone.

11. The Tribunal has also considered all other relevant matters (cl 600.211(c)).  The migration agent asserted that the sponsor had AUD90,000 in savings and the Tribunal is prepared to accept that this is the case.  The Tribunal accepts that the visit could, therefore, be secured with a bond.  Nonetheless, it is not the financial circumstances of the sponsor that the Tribunal is required to assess and unfortunately in this instance, the Tribunal is not satisfied that the applicants are in a favourable economic position, even if they do own property and agricultural lands - given the current climate in Lebanon.  It is the applicants’ sources of income and what the income might consist of that raises doubts about the applicants’ financial situation.

12. The Tribunal is conscious that it has focussed on the circumstances of the first-named visa applicant.  However, the second-named visa applicant’s circumstances are comparable to those of the first-named visa applicant.  In fact, the second-named visa applicant is a dependent of the first-named visa applicant as she is a home maker who has raised 9 children.  The second-named visa applicant lives in the same environment as does the first-named visa applicant and faces the same socio-economic challenges that affect the first-named visa applicant due to factors outside their control.  The facts applied to the first-named visa applicant in this review are also relevant to the second-named visa applicant.

    Conclusion

13. For the above reasons the Tribunal is not satisfied that the visa applicants genuinely intend to stay temporarily in Australia for the purpose for which the visa is granted and finds that the requirements of cl 600.211 are not met.

    DECISION

14. The Tribunal affirms the decision not to grant the visa applicants Visitor (Class FA) visas.

    Rosa Gagliardi
    Member

    
    

AP News, ‘Economic crisis, severe shortages make Lebanon ‘unlivable’, Bassem Mroue, 30 June 2021, Economic crisis, severe shortages make Lebanon 'unlivable' (apnews.com), accessed on
15 July 2021.