Mahrami (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visa, subclass 309. The core dispute before the Tribunal was whether the applicant and the sponsor, an Australian citizen, were in a genuine and continuing spousal relationship that met the requirements of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The Tribunal was required to determine two primary legal issues: first, whether the parties were validly married for the purposes of the Act, and second, if they were validly married, whether their relationship was genuine and continuing, encompassing a mutual commitment to a shared life as a married couple to the exclusion of all others, and whether they lived together or not separately and apart on a permanent basis. These determinations were to be made by considering all the circumstances of the relationship, including financial, household, and social aspects, as well as the nature of their commitment to each other.

The Tribunal found that while the parties had undergone a religious wedding ceremony in their home country, it was not properly registered. Subsequently, they remarried in India, and a marriage certificate issued by the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in New Delhi, dated 30 January 2018, was provided and verified as genuine by the Department of Home Affairs. The Tribunal concluded that the parties met the criteria for being in a married relationship under clause 309.211 and 309.221 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that the visa applicant met the specified criteria for a Subclass 309 visa.