Donthi (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of Mr Raja Shekar Donthi, who sought review of a decision not to grant him a Skilled Regional Sponsored (Provisional) visa (Subclass 489). The applicant’s eligibility for this visa depended on the validity of a sponsorship by Mr Sandeepkumar Bhimavarapu, who the applicant claimed was his first cousin.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criterion in regulation 489.225(3) of the Migration Regulations 1994, specifically whether Mr Bhimavarapu was related to the applicant as a first cousin. The applicant asserted that while they shared different grandparents, this was because his mother had been adopted by his cousin's grandparents in the 1980s, a period where formal documentation of such adoptions was not readily available.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to refuse the visa. It noted that the applicant had provided an affidavit from his uncle, who is the father of the sponsor, stating the relationship and the adoption. A family tree was also submitted, indicating the applicant's mother was the adopted daughter of the sponsor's grandparents. However, the Tribunal found that the evidence presented, including the affidavit and family tree, was insufficient to establish the claimed first cousin relationship, particularly in the absence of official documentation such as birth certificates or adoption records to substantiate the adoption claim. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not satisfied the requirements for sponsorship under regulation 489.225(3)(d)(vii).