KAPOOR v Minister for Home Affairs

The applicant, Mr. Kapoor, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Home Affairs to refuse his application for a partner visa. Mr. Kapoor, an Indian national, had applied for the visa on the basis of his relationship with an Australian citizen. The Minister's delegate had refused the application, finding that the relationship was not genuine and that Mr. Kapoor had not met the requirements of the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth). The matter came before Judge Egan in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the delegate's decision to refuse the partner visa was affected by jurisdictional error. Specifically, the Court was asked to consider whether the delegate had failed to take into account relevant considerations or had taken into account irrelevant considerations when assessing the genuineness of Mr. Kapoor's relationship. This involved an examination of the evidence presented by Mr. Kapoor and the delegate's assessment of that evidence against the criteria set out in the *Migration Regulations*.

Judge Egan found that the delegate had made a jurisdictional error by failing to adequately consider significant portions of the evidence provided by Mr. Kapoor, particularly documentary evidence that supported the existence and genuineness of his relationship. The delegate's assessment was found to be superficial and did not engage with the substance of the evidence in a manner required by the *Migration Regulations*. Consequently, the delegate's decision was vitiated by error.

The Court ordered that the decision of the Minister's delegate be set aside and remitted to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.