If your partner visa application was refused, you are not alone. Approximately 3,800 partner visa applicants (or 7.4% of all partner visa lodgements) were refused last financial year. [1] So, if you’ve been unlucky enough to have your partner visa (subclass 820, 309, 461) refused you are not the only one.
In the same financial year, less than half (1,663), [2] of those who were refused a partner visa applied to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to challenge the decision. Of those that did choose to appeal their partner visa refusal, 70% of subclass 820 applications, 60% of subclass 309 applications and 59% of subclass 461 (New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship visa), [3] were successful – according to the most recent information published by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (1 Jul – 30 Sep 2023). That is good news for most, but it still shows that a significant number of review applicants will not be able to convince the Administrative Appeals Tribunal that their partner visa should be granted.
Delays, delays, and more delays
Unfortunately, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal has a significant workload and there are currently 3,914 partner visas in the queue waiting for a hearing date. [4] This is why the current processing times for partner visa reviews take anywhere from 1,359 (3.7 years) – 1,761 (4.8 years) days to be finalised by the Tribunal. [5]
Will my case take 3-4 years before it is heard by the Tribunal?
How long your application takes and whether it can be fast-tracked will depend on a range of factors, including what the nature of the refusal was (lack of evidence, you failed to respond to requests for further information, genuineness of the relationship, missing police clearances, false information, etc.) The Tribunal does have a Guideline on prioritisation (President’s Direction), [6] and can consider “expedited decision requests”, [7] in certain limited circumstances.
However, for most review applicants the best and most practical approach is to start gathering your evidence and preparing your responses to why the partner visa was refused. If you are represented by an experienced immigration lawyer, the preparation of a pre-hearing submission can assist the Administrative Appeals Tribunal with the triaging of your case.
Want to know how to manage your partner visa appeal?
If you’d like to discuss your partner visa refusal, contact us for a no obligation 15 minute conversation about how we can assist you to successfully manage your partner visa appeal.
[1] https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-stats/files/report-migration-program-2022-23.pdf (page 54)
[2] https://www.aat.gov.au/AAT/media/AAT/Files/Statistics/MRD-Caseload-Statistics-by-subclass-2022-23.pdf
[3] https://www.aat.gov.au/AAT/media/AAT/Files/Statistics/MRD-caseload-statistics-by-subclass-2023-24.pdf
[4] https://www.aat.gov.au/AAT/media/AAT/Files/Statistics/MRD-caseload-statistics-by-subclass-2023-24.pdf
[5] https://www.aat.gov.au/resources/migration-and-refugee-division-processing-times
[6] https://www.aat.gov.au/AAT/media/AAT/Files/MRD%20documents/Legislation%20Policies%20Guidelines/Presidents-Direction-Prioritising-Applications-in-the-MRD.pdf
[7] https://www.aat.gov.au/AAT/media/AAT/Files/MRD%20documents/Legislation%20Policies%20Guidelines/Migration-and-Refugee-Division-Practice-Direction.pdf
