Pearl (Migration)

The applicant, Pearl, sought judicial review of a decision made by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs concerning her Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa, Subclass 820. The dispute centred on the application of a sponsorship limitation imposed under the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth).

The primary legal issue before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia was whether the Minister had correctly applied the sponsorship limitation, which restricts a person from sponsoring more than one partner visa applicant within a five-year period. Pearl's sponsor had previously sponsored another individual more than five years prior to the current application. The court was required to determine if the five-year period had elapsed in a manner that would permit the current sponsorship.

Justice Meredith Jackson found that the Minister had erred in the application of the sponsorship limitation. The court reasoned that the five-year period commenced from the date the previous sponsorship ceased to have effect, not from the date of the previous visa grant. As more than five years had passed since the previous sponsorship ceased to have effect, the limitation did not prevent the current sponsorship. Consequently, the court remitted the decision to the Minister for reconsideration according to law.