REUELU (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by an Indian national for a Subclass 309 Partner (Provisional) visa, sponsored by an Australian citizen. The applicant had a history of unsuccessful visa applications. The core dispute revolved around whether the applicant and the sponsor were in a genuine and continuing de facto relationship at the time of the application and at the time of the Tribunal's decision, as required for the visa.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the relationship between the applicant and the sponsor met the criteria for a genuine and continuing de facto relationship. This involved assessing various aspects of their relationship, including financial arrangements, household nature, social presentation, and commitment to each other, as outlined in the Migration Regulations 1994. The Tribunal also had to consider the relevance of the best interests of the parties' child and the sponsor's other children, and whether a previous sponsorship by the sponsor and the applicant's prior visa history impacted the assessment of their current relationship's genuineness.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the best interests of children are not a determinative factor in assessing the genuineness of a spousal relationship, the functioning of the parties' family household and their commitment to each other were relevant. The Tribunal found the applicant, sponsor, and witnesses credible. Despite noting discrepancies in the stated meeting dates and the applicant's history of visa applications, including previous partner visa applications and other visa types, the Tribunal concluded that the matter should be remitted for reconsideration. The Tribunal directed that the visa applicant met specific criteria related to the Subclass 309 visa, including clauses 309.211 and 309.221 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations, and regulation 2.03A.