Jawad (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of a visa applicant seeking a Visitor (Class FA) visa, Subclass 600 (Visitor), in the Sponsored Family stream. The applicant's eligibility for this stream depended on being sponsored by a "relative" as defined by the Migration Regulations. The Tribunal was tasked with determining whether the applicant met the criteria for this visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether clause 600.232 of the Migration Regulations was satisfied, specifically concerning the definition of a "relative" for sponsorship purposes. Clause 600.232 outlines the requirements for sponsorship, including that the sponsor must be a settled Australian citizen or permanent resident and a relative of the applicant. The Tribunal also had to consider clause 600.211, which requires the Tribunal to be satisfied that the applicant genuinely intends to stay temporarily in Australia for the purpose for which the visa is granted, by assessing compliance with past visa conditions and the intention to comply with future visa conditions.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the definition of "relative" in regulation 1.03. For visa applications other than refugee or protection visas, "relative" includes a "close relative" or a grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew. "Close relative" is defined as a spouse or de facto partner, or a child, parent, brother, or sister. The applicant's sponsor was a cousin. The Tribunal found that a cousin, while potentially a second cousin under the broader definition of "relative" in some contexts, did not fall within the definition of "close relative" or the specifically enumerated relationships for sponsorship under clause 600.232(2)(a) in the context of a Visitor visa.

Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the sponsorship requirement under clause 600.232 was not met. As this was a necessary criterion for the grant of a Visitor (Sponsored Family) visa in the Sponsored Family stream, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa.