Rejected Spouse(Defacto) Visas
Dear Minister for Immigration and Border Protection,
I am a student at Macleay College in Sydney where I am doing my bachelor degree in Journalism.
I am very interested in digging out more detailed information (than what is offered on the www.border.gov.au website) about partnership visas between international travellers and Australian citizens.
Since Australia is one of the worlds most popular destinations for travels and also a country with a job politic that offers work opportunities even for international backpackers, it is very often these travellers manage to get settled and create a "home" and would do anything to stay for longer than their limited visa has to offer, especially if the've met a partner who lives here permanently.
There are opportunities in these cases to extend your visa on a so called Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801) but it is something that takes a lot of time, something that is very expensive, the requirements are very strict and it is not always these visa applications gets granted.
I would like you to provide me with compiled statistics that tells me how many applications you get a year and how many of these applications that gets rejected.
And in the cases were the couples do get rejected, is there any documents regarding the reasons behind it. Perhaps a specific case file where there's been enough evidece to claim that the relationship has been inaccurate or straight out false.
It would be interesting to find out how the government decides what is "true love" and what is only an extension of a visa.
Yours faithfully,
Sir Linde
Journalist Student at Macleay College
Good morning Siri
Thank you for your email of 25 February 2016.
As advised to you yesterday in response to your original request, in order
for a request to be valid for the purposes of the FOI Act, it must provide
such information concerning the document you are seeking access to as it
reasonably necessary to enable the Department to identify it.
I understand your request to be for the following:
“1. compiled statistics that tells me how many applications [for Partner
visa (subclasses 820 and 801)] you get a year and how many of these
applications are rejected.
and
2. in the cases were the couples do get rejected, is there any documents
regarding the reasons behind it. Perhaps a specific case file where
there's been enough evidence to claim that the relationship has been
inaccurate or straight out false.”
In relation to the first part of your request, whilst you have identified
that your require statistics in relation to applications received by the
Department for Partner visas, the request remains broad because you have
not limited it to a specific time period. Your request effectively
therefore has an infinite time span, which could potentially create a
substantial and unreasonable diversion of the Department’s resources to
process. As such, in order for part 1 of your request to be valid, it
would assist if you could limit the timeframe of the request – for example
to the financial year 2014-2015.
In relation to the second part of your request, you may have provide
sufficient information to enable the Department to identify the documents
you are requesting access to, in that you have requested access to “a
specific case file where there's been enough evidence to claim that the
relationship has been inaccurate or straight out false”. However, I note
that any such documents would contain extensive personal information
relating to third parties.
The Department has a duty to manage personal information in a manner that
is consistent with the Privacy Act. Any request to the Department for
access to this type of information under the FOI Act will be considered
individually on its merits taking into account any exemptions under the
FOI Act that may apply, including section 47F in relation to personal
privacy.
I would also remind you that as you are not seeking access to your own
personal information, charges may be imposed by the Department in
accordance with the Schedule to the Freedom of Information (Charges)
Regulations 1982. A copy of that schedule was set out in my email to you
of yesterday’s date.
I do not currently consider your request to be valid for the purposes of
the FOI Act, for the reasons stated above. If you wish to reconsider the
scope of your request and clarify the information you are seeking access
to, the Department may be able to consider whether it holds any relevant
information.
If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact
me.
With kind regards
Alison Smith
FOI Officer | Freedom of Information Section
Information Management Branch
Department of Immigration and Border Protection
E| [email address]
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