Khaled (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by a visa applicant against a decision regarding his Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visa application. The review applicant was an Australian citizen, and the visa applicant claimed to be her spouse. The central issue before the Tribunal was whether the parties were in a genuine and continuing spouse relationship as defined by the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).

The Tribunal was required to determine if the parties were married to each other under a marriage valid for the purposes of the Act, if there was a mutual commitment to a shared life as a married couple to the exclusion of all others, if the relationship was genuine and continuing, and if they lived together or not separately and apart on a permanent basis. In making this determination, the Tribunal had to consider all circumstances of the relationship, including the financial and social aspects, the nature of their household, and their commitment to each other, as outlined in regulation 1.15A(3) of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The Tribunal found that the parties were validly married on 6 March 2015, based on the provided marriage certificate and death and divorce certificates for each party. Despite initial concerns regarding the visa applicant's migration history and that of his brothers, the Tribunal accepted the parties' claims about their relationship. This acceptance was based on the consistency of their oral evidence with each other and with documentary evidence, and importantly, the credible oral evidence provided by the review applicant's daughter, which supported key aspects of their relationship. The Tribunal also considered the financial aspects, noting joint utility bills and bank statements, although some aspects of the review applicant's evidence regarding a car purchase were unclear.

Ultimately, the Tribunal concluded that the visa applicant met the criteria for being the spouse of an Australian citizen at the time of application and decision. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for the visa to the Minister for reconsideration, with a direction that the visa applicant met the criteria under cl 309.211 and cl 309.221 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.