Casiano (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the application of Mr Casiano, a secondary applicant for an Other Family (Residence) (Class BU) visa, specifically Subclass 836 (Carer). The primary dispute concerned whether Mr Casiano, aged 22 at the time of application and 24 at the time of the primary decision, met the criteria for inclusion as a member of the family unit of the primary visa applicant.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr Casiano was wholly or substantially reliant on the family head due to an incapacity, as required by the relevant migration regulations, specifically clause 836.321 and equivalent provisions for other subclasses within Class BU. The Tribunal was required to determine if the evidence presented satisfied this dependency criterion.

The Tribunal found that there was no evidence to establish that Mr Casiano suffered from an incapacity that rendered him wholly or substantially reliant on the family head. Consequently, the Tribunal was not satisfied that Mr Casiano met the definition of a member of the family unit as defined by regulation 1.12. As a result, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.