Jimenez (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a delegate's decision to refuse the applicant, Mr Jonn Cyrus Manantan Jimenez, a Subclass 836 Carer visa. Mr Jimenez, a national of the Philippines, was included as a secondary applicant in his mother's application for the same visa subclass. The primary issue revolved around whether Mr Jimenez met the criteria for being a member of the family unit of the primary visa applicant, specifically concerning dependency.

The court was required to determine if Mr Jimenez continued to be a member of the family unit of a Subclass 836 visa holder at the time of the Tribunal's decision, as stipulated by clause 836.321 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. This determination was complicated by the fact that the primary visa applicant, Mr Jimenez's mother, had been granted Australian citizenship in March 2023, meaning she no longer held the Subclass 836 visa at the time of the Tribunal's review.

The Tribunal found that because the primary visa applicant had acquired Australian citizenship, she no longer held a Subclass 836 visa. Consequently, Mr Jimenez could not satisfy the requirement of being a member of the family unit of a person who held such a visa at the time of the Tribunal's decision. The Tribunal considered, but ultimately did not grant, a referral for ministerial intervention under section 351 of the Migration Act 1958, noting that such a referral is not a formal legal process and applicants can directly seek ministerial consideration. The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the visa.