Parvati (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa, Subclass 820 (Partner). The applicant sought to establish that they were the spouse of an Australian citizen sponsor at the time of the visa application on 17 August 2016. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant and the sponsor were in a married relationship that met the criteria for the visa.

The central legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the parties were validly married and whether their relationship met the other requirements of a spouse relationship as defined by the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth). Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider the definition of "spouse" under section 5F of the Act, which requires a mutual commitment to a shared life as a married couple to the exclusion of all others, that the relationship be genuine and continuing, and that the couple live together or not live separately and apart on a permanent basis. The Tribunal also had to have regard to all circumstances of the relationship, including financial, social, household, and commitment aspects, as outlined in regulation 1.15A(3).

The Tribunal reasoned that evidence of events subsequent to the visa application could be relevant to establishing facts existing at the time of the application, citing *Jayasinghe v MIMA* [2006] FCA 1700. It found that the parties were validly married on 1 August 2016, satisfying the requirement under section 5F(2)(a). While the decision text does not detail the Tribunal's specific findings on all the factors in regulation 1.15A(3), it concluded that the applicant met the criteria for the visa. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the applications for Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visas with a direction that the applicant met the criteria under cl 820.211(2)(a) and cl 820.221(1) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.