Partner Visa success: knowledge about your partner

Posted by Gomez Lawyers on August 25th, 2018

 Recently a Partner Visa applicant had their Partner Visa refused simply because the applicant and Partners Sponsor were of different religious backgrounds.


In this Partner Visa case, the applicant was of the Sikh faith and his Australian wife was a Christian. The applicant was not aware of the Church to which his wife belonged. The Department and Tribunal when assessing and reviewing this Partner Visa application decided that this lack of knowledge showed ”a lack of support”.They decided that this demonstrated that the applicant and partner sponsor were not in a genuine relationship as they were  not “committed to each other ...emotionally as spouses”. The Partner visa was refused.


The applicant and partner sponsor took the matter to the Federal Court. The Federal Court in reviewing the Partner Visa case decided that both the Department and Tribunal were wrong. The Court held that in deciding a Partner Visa application “the proper focus is on the nature and extent of the emotional support subjectively desired by one party to the relationship and the degree to which those desires are fulfilled in fact by the other party”.


The applicant and partner sponsor had their entire Partner Visa application delayed for years as they had to first seek a Tribunal Review and then take the matter to the Federal Court at great cost. This Partner Visa application problems could have been avoided if the applicant and partner sponsor had more properly addressed all the obvious issues with comprehensive written statements and submissions.


In a Partner Visa application, the Department is always looking at how much the applicant and partner sponsor know about each. The Department needs to be satisfied that the Partner Visa applicant and sponsor have sufficient knowledge in the range of what is expected from a couple in a genuine relationship.


So remember, in a partner visa application, both the applicant and partner sponsor must know basic information about each other like birthday, age, food restrictions, health issues, and of course religion and even the church to which they belong. These basic facts and demonstrating you know they can make a difference to the failure or success of Partner Visa Application.
If you have any questions please write to jerry.gomez@gomezlaw.com.au

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Gomez Lawyers
Joined: August 25th, 2018
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