Velasquez (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by Ms. Velasquez for a subclass 808 Confirmatory (Residence) visa. Ms. Velasquez acknowledged that she did not meet the eligibility criteria for this visa, as she did not hold a valid Resident Return (Temporary) visa or an Emergency (Temporary) visa at the time of her application, but rather a subclass 600 Visitor visa. Her application was therefore refused by the primary decision-maker, and this decision was affirmed by the Tribunal.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether to affirm the refusal of the subclass 808 visa. A secondary issue, arising from Ms. Velasquez's submissions, was whether the Tribunal should support an application for ministerial intervention, given her failure to meet the visa criteria. Ms. Velasquez sought to rely on her marriage to an Australian citizen, the birth of their Australian citizen child, her husband's subsequent ill health and death, and her son's settlement in Australia as grounds for ministerial intervention.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant clearly did not meet the specific criteria for the subclass 808 visa as set out in clause 808.212 of the Migration Regulations. Consequently, the decision to refuse the visa had to be affirmed. Regarding ministerial intervention, the Tribunal noted that while it understood the applicant's circumstances, it did not intend to support her request for intervention. The Tribunal advised the applicant that she could provide any further information directly to the Department to support her application for ministerial intervention.