KAZEMI (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal regarding Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visas, specifically Subclass 309. The primary applicant, Mrs Bibi Rukhshana Kazemi, sought a visa, and the secondary applicants, Mr Sayed Sardar Kazemi and Mr Sayed Mustafa Kazemi, who are the sponsor's adopted children, were included in her application. The central dispute revolved around whether the secondary applicants qualified as members of the family unit of the primary applicant, specifically whether they were wholly or significantly financially reliant on her, who was considered the head of the household.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the secondary visa applicants met the criteria for being a member of the family unit as defined in regulation 1.12(1) and being dependent as defined in regulation 1.05A(1) of the Migration Regulations 1994. This involved assessing whether they were relatives of the family head or their spouse, did not have a spouse or de facto partner, were usually resident in the family head’s household, and were dependent on the family head. The Tribunal also considered the requirements of clauses 309.311 and 309.321, which stipulate that a secondary applicant must be a member of the family unit at the time of application and at the time of decision.

The Tribunal noted that the secondary applicants were the sponsor's adopted children and were normally resident in the primary applicant's household, of which she was the head. While the familial relationship was acknowledged, the delegate had previously found insufficient evidence of financial dependency on the primary applicant, noting that the sponsor was financially supporting the primary applicant. The secondary applicants had been given opportunities to provide evidence of their dependency but had only submitted a Form 80 and photographs. The Tribunal concluded that the matter should be remitted for reconsideration, directing that the first named visa applicant met the criteria for a Subclass 309 visa.