Yoo (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Partner (Temporary) (Class UK) visa, Subclass 820 (Partner), brought by the applicant against the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs. The dispute centred on whether the applicant's sponsor was subject to a five-year limitation period on sponsoring partner visa applications, as imposed by regulation 1.20J of the Migration Regulations 1994. The Tribunal was required to determine if this limitation period had expired at the relevant time for assessing the sponsorship.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the sponsorship requirements under clause 820.211(2)(c) and clause 820.221(4) of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations. Specifically, the Tribunal had to ascertain if the sponsor's previous sponsorship, lodged on 25 August 2014, impacted the current application due to the five-year waiting period stipulated in regulation 1.20J, which limits a person to two approved sponsorships in a lifetime and requires a five-year lapse between sponsorships.

The Tribunal found that the applicant met the sponsorship requirement under clause 820.211(2)(c) as they were sponsored by the sponsor at the time of application, and both the applicant and sponsor met the age and citizenship criteria. Regarding clause 820.221(4), the Tribunal noted that at the time of the Department's decision, the five-year period since the sponsor's previous application (lodged 25 August 2014) had not yet passed. However, by the time of the Tribunal's review, this five-year period had elapsed. Applying regulation 1.20J, the Tribunal concluded that the five-year limitation period had expired by the time of its review.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for the visa to the Minister for reconsideration, with a direction that the applicant met the criteria under clauses 820.211(2)(c) and 820.221(4) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations.