Lim (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by the applicant, Lim, against a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) affirming the refusal of her Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa, subclass 820. The AAT had found that the applicant had not satisfied the delegate's assessment of the circumstances of her de facto relationship with her sponsor.

The primary legal issue before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia was whether the AAT had erred in law in its assessment of the evidence regarding the genuineness of the de facto relationship. Specifically, the court considered whether the AAT had failed to properly consider all relevant aspects of the relationship, including evidence of shared social activities, travel, and financial arrangements, in light of its finding that the relationship "appeared not to be genuine."

Her Honour Justice Cameron found that the AAT had made an error of law by failing to give adequate weight to the evidence presented by the applicant and her sponsor concerning the shared social activities and travel undertaken together, as well as the consistent evidence regarding their financial arrangements. The AAT's conclusion that the relationship "appeared not to be genuine" was found to be an unreasonable inference given the totality of the evidence, which included mutual respect and affection. The court held that the AAT had not properly engaged with the evidence that demonstrated the substance of the relationship.

The appeal was allowed, and the decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal was set aside. The matter was remitted to the AAT for redetermination according to law.