Vujicic (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision to refuse a Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa, Subclass 820. The applicant, Mr Vujicic, a Serbian national, sought to establish that he was in a spousal relationship with Ms Jovic, an Australian citizen. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the parties met the criteria for a genuine and continuing spousal relationship under the *Migration Regulations 1994*.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the parties were in a genuine and continuing spousal relationship, and whether they had a mutual commitment to a shared life as a married couple to the exclusion of all others, as required by the *Migration Act 1958* and the *Migration Regulations 1994*. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider the financial aspects, the nature of the household, the social aspects of the relationship, and the nature of the parties' commitment to each other, as outlined in regulation 1.15A(3).

The Tribunal found that while the parties could have provided more comprehensive information to the Department initially, the additional evidence submitted, including statements from numerous friends and acquaintances and oral testimony, supported the genuineness of their relationship. The Tribunal was satisfied that the marriage was valid for the purposes of the *Migration Act* and that the parties demonstrated a mutual commitment to a shared life as a married couple, were in a genuine and continuing relationship, and lived together. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the original decision.

The Tribunal remitted the application for a Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa, Subclass 820, with a direction that Mr Vujicic met the criteria specified in cl.820.211(2)(a) and cl.820.220(1) of Schedule 2 to the *Migration Regulations 1994*.