Laqua (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Partner (Residence) (Class BS) visa, Subclass 801 (Spouse), where the primary dispute revolved around the applicant's criminal history. The applicant had initially failed to provide police certificates from Australia and Indonesia, despite having resided in those countries for a cumulative period of twelve months or more within the last ten years, after turning sixteen. Following multiple requests for further information, including a final request on 19 August 2021, the applicant remained unresponsive, leading to a visa refusal by the delegate on 27 September 2021. The applicant subsequently sought review of this decision by the Tribunal.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had provided a statement from an appropriate authority that evidenced their criminal history, as required by regulation 2.03AA(2)(a). The Tribunal was tasked with determining if the applicant had satisfied this criterion, particularly in light of their initial non-compliance with requests for police certificates.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant had ultimately provided a police certificate issued by the German Federal Office of Justice on 28 October 2021, along with a certified translation. The Tribunal was satisfied that this document constituted a statement from an appropriate authority, thereby meeting the requirements of regulation 2.03AA(2)(a). Consequently, the Tribunal found that the applicant met this criterion.

Based on these findings, the Tribunal remitted the application for a Partner (Residence) (Class BS) visa for reconsideration. The reconsideration was to proceed with the direction that the applicant had met the criteria under regulation 2.03AA(2) for a Subclass 801 visa.