Xi (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a Parent (Migrant) (Class AX) visa, Subclass 103. The primary dispute concerned whether the applicant, the parent of an Australian citizen, met the criteria under clauses 103.211 and 103.221 of the Migration Regulations 1994, specifically regarding the sponsor's connection to Australia and the applicant's eligibility.

The core legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the primary visa applicant was, at the time of application and at the time of the decision, the parent of an Australian citizen, and whether the sponsor, the applicant's child, continued to satisfy the requirements of being "settled" in Australia. This involved assessing the sponsor's employment circumstances and intentions regarding her residence in Australia.

The Tribunal found that the sponsor, an Australian citizen, had been employed overseas as an associate professor in Beijing since March 2015, with her contract extending to March 2018. While the sponsor had spent limited time in Australia in the periods preceding the Department's decision and the Tribunal hearing, she had provided evidence of her academic qualifications obtained in Australia and her intention to return to Australia to raise her child. The Tribunal accepted that there may have been mitigating circumstances for the sponsor's failure to respond to a Departmental request for information regarding her absence. Ultimately, the Tribunal concluded that the primary visa applicant satisfied the requirements of clauses 103.211 and 103.221.

The Tribunal remitted the applications for Parent (Migrant) (Class AX) visas for reconsideration, directing that the first named visa applicant met the specified criteria for a Subclass 103 (Parent) visa.