Sesay (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visa, subclass 309, made by the applicant, Makula Sesay, who claimed to be the spouse of an Australian citizen. The Tribunal, presided over by Jennifer Cripps Watts, was tasked with determining whether the parties were in a married relationship that satisfied the requirements of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) (the Act) and the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth) (the Regulations).

The central legal issue was whether the applicant and the review applicant were in a married relationship as defined by section 5F of the Act. This definition requires that the parties be married to each other under a valid marriage, demonstrate a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others, that the relationship be genuine and continuing, and that they live together or not separately and apart on a permanent basis. The Tribunal was required to consider all circumstances of the relationship, including financial, social, household, and commitment aspects, as outlined in regulation 1.15A of the Regulations.

The Tribunal accepted that the parties were validly married in Conakry, Guinea, on 19 January 2014, based on a certified marriage certificate. However, the Tribunal found insufficient reliable evidence to support the claim that the parties had a genuine and continuing relationship with a mutual commitment to a shared life. Specifically, the Tribunal gave little weight to the claimed commencement of the relationship in 2007 and the subsequent decision to reconnect and marry, noting a lack of evidence of communication between the parties in the period before the review applicant migrated to Australia. The Tribunal also considered the limited travel movements of the review applicant offshore since 2007, which included the period of their marriage.

Consequently, as the primary visa applicant did not satisfy the criteria for the grant of the visa, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) visa to the applicant.