Ruiz Cortes (Migration)

This matter concerned an appeal by an applicant for an Employer Nomination (Permanent) (Class EN) visa, Subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme), before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The applicant sought to be recognised as a member of the family unit of the primary visa holder, Ms Pena Collazos, who is the applicant's daughter-in-law.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the definition of a "member of the family unit" as defined in regulation 1.12 of the Migration Regulations 1994. This definition requires, among other things, that the applicant be a relative of the family head or their spouse, usually resident in the family head's household, and dependent on the family head. The Tribunal also considered the definitions of "relative" and "close relative" within the regulations.

The Tribunal found that the applicant was the mother of the primary visa holder's spouse, thus qualifying as a "close relative" for the purposes of clause 186.311. The evidence indicated that the applicant had been residing in the primary applicant's household since September 2014 and had been wholly dependent on her son and daughter-in-law for financial support since February 2012. The Tribunal noted that the applicant had no property in her home country and that her son had provided her with financial assistance since 2010, including rent and living expenses.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for reconsideration by the Minister, with a direction that the applicant met the criteria under clause 186.311 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.