Gray (Migration)
[2025] ARTA 1206
•8 July 2025
Gray (Migration) [2025] ARTA 1206 (8 July 2025)
DECISION AND
REASONS FOR DECISION
Applicant:Ms Mary Ann Suzzette Gray
Visa Applicant: Mr Bryan Salvador
Respondent: Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
Tribunal Number: 2317155
Tribunal:General Member J Hanton
Place:
Date:8 July 2025
Decision: The Tribunal sets aside the decision under review and remits the application for a Visitor (Class FA) visa for reconsideration, in accordance with an order that the visa applicant meets the following criteria for a Subclass 600 (Visitor) (Class FA) visa:
·cl 600.232 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.
CATCHWORDS
MIGRATION – Visitor (Class FA) visa – Subclass 600 (Visitor) – sponsored family stream – sponsorship by relative – de facto partner now fiancé – documentary evidence of communications, finances and travel – decision under review remitted
LEGISLATION
Migration Act 1958 (Cth), ss 5CB, 65
Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), r 1.03, 1.09A, Schedule 2, cl 600.231, 600.232
STATEMENT OF REASONS
APPLICATION FOR REVIEW
This is an application for review of a decision made by a delegate of the Minister on 24 October 2023 to refuse to grant the visa applicant a Visitor (Class FA) visa under s 65 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) (the Act).
The visa applicant is a 44-year old man from Cebu in the Philippines. The review applicant and sponsor is a 45-year old Australian citizen.
The visa applicant applied for the visa on 29 August 2023. At the time the visa application was lodged, Class FA contained one subclass, Subclass 600 (Visitor), with a number of different streams. In this case the applicant applied for the visa seeking to satisfy the primary criteria in the Sponsored Family stream.
The criteria for a Subclass 600 visa are set out in Part 600 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) (the Regulations). Relevantly to this case, they include cl 600.232, which requires the Minister to be satisfied that the visa applicant is sponsored by a relative.
The following evidence was available to the Tribunal:
a.evidence of the review and visa applicants travelling together from Cebu to Singapore return in November 2019;
b.statements of overseas funds transfer made by the review applicant to the visa applicant in the Philippines on 11 August 2019 ($580AUD); 25 August 2020 ($900AUD); 24 August 2020 ($400 AUD); 5 October 2022 ($1,060AUD); and 20 October 2023 ($1,400AUD).
c.photographs of the review and visa applicants together in September 2022; May 2023; October 2023; March 2024; and between January and April 2025.
d.The visa applicant’s utility bills addressed to the review applicant.
e.screenshots of Facebook messenger messages between the review applicant and visa applicant;
f.evidence of the review and visa applicant’s joint ChinaBank account and photographic evidence that the review applicant sponsor has access to the visa applicant’s Filipino bank account;
g.hospital records related to the visa applicant’s January 2025 cancer diagnosis and evidence the review applicant sponsor changed her flights to Australia to remain with him while he underwent treatment.
Consideration of claims and evidence
The issue in this case is whether cl 600.232 is met, which relevantly requires the Tribunal to be satisfied that the visa applicant is sponsored by a settled Australian citizen, or a settled Australian permanent resident, who is at least 18 and is a relative of the applicant; or a relative of another applicant who is a member of the family unit of the applicant; or a relative of another application in relation to whom the applicant is a member of the family unit.
Regulation 1.03 defines ‘close relative’ to mean the spouse or de facto partner of the person; or a child, parent, brother or sister of the person; or a step-child, step-brother or step-sister of the person.
In the present case, the visa applicant seeks the visa for the purposes of visiting the review applicant sponsor who, it is claimed, is now his fiancé and was his de facto at the time of the visa application. This is a purpose for which a visa in the Sponsored Family stream may be granted: cl 600.231.
‘De facto partner’ is defined in s 5CB the Act, which provides that: the couple must not be married to each other or related by family; the couple must have a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others; their relationship is genuine and continuing, and that the couple live together or do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis.
When considering whether the above requirements in s 5CB are satisfied and the applicant is the de facto partner of the family head, the Tribunal may consider any of the circumstances outlined in reg 1.09A of the Regulations. These circumstances are the financial aspects of the relationship, the nature of the household, the social aspects of the relationship, and the nature of the persons’ commitment to each other.
In considering whether a visa applicant meets cl 600.232, the Tribunal had regard to the evidence provided to the Department, and additional evidence submitted to the Tribunal in support of the application for review.
In support of their relationship in the visa application, the visa applicant provided photographs of the two together. The Department was not satisfied that these photographs were sufficient evidence to establish the claimed de facto relationship between the review applicant sponsor and the visa applicant.
The Tribunal received additional evidence to demonstrate the de facto relationship, including the mingling of finances in the form of a joint bank account; the financial support the review applicant sponsor provided the review applicant in the form of overseas funds transfers from Australia; and evidence of their commitment to one another in the form of photographs spanning several years and the review applicant’s sponsor’s payment of the visa applicant’s hospital bills
For the above reasons the Tribunal is satisfied that the review applicant sponsor and visa applicant are in a de facto relationship, and therefore finds that the requirements of cl 600.232 are met.
The Tribunal make no other findings regarding the purpose of the visit, or whether the visa applicant meets any other criteria for the grant of a Visitor (Class FA) visa.
DECISION
The Tribunal sets aside the decision under review and remits the application for a Visitor (Class FA) visa for reconsideration, in accordance with an order that the visa applicant meets the following criteria for a Subclass 600 (Visitor) (Class FA) visa:
·cl 600.232 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.
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