Omar (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision not to grant a Visitor (Class FA) visa, subclass 600 (Sponsored Family stream). The applicant sought to travel to Australia to visit family members. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the genuine temporary stay criterion under cl.600.211 of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The Tribunal considered whether the applicant genuinely intended to stay temporarily in Australia. This involved assessing compliance with the conditions of any previous Australian visas, which was not applicable as the applicant had no prior Australian visa history. The Tribunal also considered the applicant's intention to comply with the conditions of the proposed visa, including not working in Australia, not undertaking study for more than three months, not being entitled to a substantive visa while remaining in Australia, and departing Australia before the end of the permitted stay.

The Tribunal accepted evidence that the applicant was married with two young children living in Lebanon, and that his wife was a Ukrainian citizen. The Tribunal gave significant weight to the wife's evidence that the applicant was devoted to his family and would return to them. It was also accepted that the applicant had numerous siblings, with six residing in Australia and eight in Lebanon. Despite this, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant genuinely intended to stay temporarily in Australia for the purpose for which the visa was granted.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa, finding that the requirements of cl.600.211 were not met.