Hamid (Migration)

This matter concerned a Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visa application made by the visa applicant, who claimed to be in a genuine and continuing relationship with the review applicant, an Australian citizen. The core dispute before the Tribunal was whether the parties were in a genuine and continuing spousal relationship at the time of the visa application and at the time of the decision.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the parties were validly married, and whether their relationship met the criteria for being genuine and continuing, as defined by section 5F of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and regulation 1.15A of the Migration Regulations 1994. This required consideration of the financial and household aspects of the relationship, as well as the social aspects and the nature of the parties' commitment to each other.

The Tribunal found that the parties had provided coherent, credible, and broadly consistent oral and documentary evidence regarding their meeting, the development of their relationship, and their living arrangements. They were introduced by parents, married shortly thereafter, and shared religious and cultural values. Despite living apart since their marriage, the Tribunal was satisfied they considered themselves married and were distressed by their separation, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tribunal accepted the history of the relationship as presented by the parties, including their parents' involvement in initial arrangements and their custom of living with the sponsor's sister after marriage.

Given the findings, the Tribunal remitted the application for reconsideration by the Minister, directing that the visa applicant met the criteria under clauses 309.211 and 309.221 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.