Noor Ul (Migration)

This matter concerned a review applicant's appeal to the Tribunal regarding a decision to refuse a Prospective Marriage (Temporary) (Class TO) visa, subclass 300. The core dispute revolved around the timing and validity of the marriage between the visa applicant and the review applicant, which occurred after the initial refusal but before the Tribunal's final determination.

The legal issue before the Tribunal was whether regulation 2.08E of the Migration Regulations 1994 applied in these circumstances. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the visa applicant had validly married the sponsor after the delegate's decision and before the review application was finalised, and if that marriage was recognised as valid for the purposes of the Migration Act 1958.

The Tribunal reasoned that under regulation 2.08E, if a visa applicant validly marries the sponsor after a decision to refuse a Prospective Marriage visa and notifies the Tribunal before the review is finalised, the application must be remitted to the Minister for reconsideration as an application for a Partner (Migrant) (Class BC) and a Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visa. The Tribunal applied section 12 of the Migration Act and Part VA of the Marriage Act 1961, which generally recognise foreign marriages valid under local civil law. In this case, the Tribunal was satisfied, based on the provided marriage registration certificate, that the marriage was registered on 26 October 2016, after the delegate's decision but before the Tribunal's determination. The Tribunal accepted the date of registration as the appropriate time of marriage in these circumstances and found the marriage to be valid.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the visa application to the Minister for reconsideration, with the direction that it be treated as an application for a Partner (Migrant) (Class BC) visa and a Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visa, made on the day of remittance.