HINDI (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Visitor (Class FA) visa, Subclass 600 (Sponsored Family stream), made by a 29-year-old woman from Lebanon. The visa applicant sought to visit her mother and three siblings residing in Australia. The review applicant, the visa applicant's mother and an Australian permanent resident, sponsored the application.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the visa applicant genuinely intended to stay temporarily in Australia, as required by criterion 600.211 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations. This involved assessing the applicant's personal circumstances, including her studies in France, her employment, her engagement to a French resident, and her stated intention to reside in France and seek French residency through her husband. The Tribunal also had to consider the migration history of the review applicant and her previous unsuccessful sponsorship attempts for other children.

The Tribunal noted that the visa applicant was enrolled in a Master's program in French language in France, had a scholarship, and had been employed as a French teacher. She was also engaged to a French national and intended to marry him, with the hope of obtaining French residency. While acknowledging the review applicant's own migration history and the potential for concerns about the visa applicant seeking to remain in Australia permanently, the Tribunal considered the visa applicant's current circumstances to be significantly different. The Tribunal was satisfied that the visa applicant genuinely intended to stay temporarily in Australia for the purpose of the visa.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for a Visitor (Class FA) visa for reconsideration, with a direction that the visa applicant met the requirements of cl.600.211 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.