OWOEYE (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by a Nigerian national for a Subclass 600 Visitor (Tourist Stream) visa. The applicant, who had been in Australia since February 2018, sought a further stay until December 2019, which would result in her being in Australia for more than 12 consecutive months. The primary dispute concerned whether exceptional circumstances existed to justify granting the visa under clause 600.215 of the Migration Regulations 1994, which requires such circumstances when a visa would permit a stay exceeding 12 consecutive months.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant's stated reasons for an extended stay constituted exceptional circumstances. These reasons included supporting her son and daughter-in-law due to an unexpected and medically complicated pregnancy of the daughter-in-law, and caring for her 15-month-old grandson during this period. The Tribunal had to assess whether the presented evidence adequately supported these claims and met the threshold for exceptionality as defined by the Regulations.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant's daughter-in-law's unplanned pregnancy, complicated by pre-existing medical conditions and severe pregnancy-related issues, along with the need to care for the young grandson, constituted exceptional circumstances. The Tribunal found these circumstances to be out of the ordinary and unanticipated at the time of the initial visa application. It concluded that refusing the visa would cause significant hardship to the applicant's Australian permanent resident son and grandson. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for reconsideration, directing that the applicant met the criteria under clause 600.215.