EL Hossni (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Cth) considered the case of an applicant whose Subclass 801 (Spouse) visa was cancelled. The cancellation was based on allegations of non-compliance with provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), specifically concerning the provision of correct information in visa applications and the notification of changes in circumstances. The applicant had initially been granted a Prospective Marriage visa, followed by a Spouse visa, and later sought to sponsor another partner.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant had failed to comply with sections 101(b) and 104 of the *Migration Act 1958*, as particularised in the notice issued under section 107, and if so, whether the visa should be cancelled. The alleged non-compliance stemmed from statements made in a statutory declaration supporting the Spouse visa application, where the applicant asserted a continuing marital relationship and cohabitation, which was later contradicted by the production of a Lebanese certificate of marriage annulment in support of a subsequent partner visa application for a different person.

The Tribunal reasoned that section 100 of the Act defines an answer as incorrect even if the applicant was unaware of its incorrectness, and section 104 requires notification of changes in circumstances that render an answer incorrect. The Tribunal found that the applicant's assertion of a continuing marriage in his 2014 statutory declaration was rendered incorrect by the subsequent reliance on a marriage annulment document in 2017, which indicated the marriage to his sponsor had ended prior to that date. The Tribunal was satisfied that the notice issued under section 107 complied with statutory requirements and that the applicant had indeed failed to comply with the Act.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's Subclass 801 (Spouse) visa, concluding that the non-compliance identified was established and that, having regard to all relevant circumstances, the visa should be cancelled.