Bajrami (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa, Subclass 820, made by an applicant who is a citizen of Kosovo, sponsored by an Australian citizen. The dispute arose from the delegate's refusal of the visa application, primarily on the grounds that the applicant had not provided a copy of the parties' marriage certificate, leading to a lack of satisfaction that the applicant had married the sponsor as required by the regulations. The applicant and sponsor had been married in Australia and had two young daughters together.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for the Subclass 820 visa, specifically whether the parties were validly married for the purposes of the Act, and to assess the nature of their relationship in accordance with the relevant legislative provisions. The delegate had not made any assessment of the parties' relationship against section 5F of the Act or regulation 1.15A(3).

The Tribunal found that the applicant had provided a copy of the marriage certificate to the Tribunal, which showed the parties were married on 17 June 2017, and there was no evidence to suggest the marriage was not valid. The Tribunal accepted that the parties were married under a marriage recognised as valid for the purposes of the Act, satisfying clause 820.211(6) of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. Furthermore, the Tribunal considered the parties' consistent and spontaneous oral evidence regarding their relationship, living arrangements, and care of their children, finding them to be honest and reliable. The Tribunal concluded that it was appropriate to assess the relationship against section 5F and regulation 1.15A(3) given the circumstances.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that the applicant met the criteria under clause 820.211(6) and clause 820.221(1) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations. The Tribunal indicated that the parties saw their relationship as a long-term commitment and had a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others.