BALLESTEROS (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the application of Ms. Ballesteros for a Visitor (Class FA) visa, subclass 600, in the Sponsored Family stream. The applicant's de facto partner sought to sponsor her. The central dispute concerned whether the sponsor met the eligibility requirements for sponsorship under the relevant migration regulations.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the sponsor, as the applicant's de facto partner, had provided sufficient evidence to satisfy the delegate that they were a genuine couple and that the sponsorship was legitimate. Specifically, the Tribunal had to assess if the evidence presented adequately demonstrated the existence and nature of the de facto relationship for the purposes of the sponsorship.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal acknowledged that the delegate had found the evidence insufficient to establish the genuineness of the de facto relationship. However, the Tribunal concluded that the delegate had failed to properly consider all the evidence that had been submitted by the applicant and the sponsor. The Tribunal found that the delegate's decision was affected by an error of law, as it did not adequately take into account the entirety of the material before it. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the matter to the delegate for redetermination.