NGUYEN (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa, Subclass 820 (Partner), made by a 34-year-old Vietnamese national. The applicant was sponsored by Andrew Nguyen, an Australian citizen, who had previously sponsored two former partners for partner visas. The core of the dispute concerned the sponsorship limitation under regulation 1.20J, which requires compelling circumstances to justify approving a sponsorship when the sponsor has previously sponsored two individuals.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the sponsor's previous sponsorships, coupled with other factors, prevented the grant of the visa, and if so, whether there were compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor that would justify an exception to the sponsorship limitation. The Tribunal was required to assess the evidence presented by both the applicant and the sponsor to determine if the relationship was genuine and continuing, and if the circumstances surrounding the sponsorship met the threshold for compelling reasons.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the evidence demonstrating a long-standing and genuine relationship between the applicant and the sponsor, which commenced in December 2015 and resulted in their marriage in August 2017. Crucially, the Tribunal noted the birth of a child to the couple in November 2018, and the shared responsibility for this child, as significant factors. The Tribunal found that the applicant met the criteria under cl 820.211 and cl 820.221 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application to the Department for reconsideration of the remaining criteria, with a direction that the applicant had met the specified criteria relating to the relationship and sponsorship.