Partner visa for Indian man suspected of being in a sham marriage

An Indian businessman, sponsored by his Australian citizen wife, applied for a partner visa.  The couple had just shared the personal loss of their first child and wanted to continue their life together in Australia permanently and create a family.  

The applicant represented himself and was granted a temporary partner visa without issue. However, for reasons unknown, the Minister grew suspicious of the relationship and sent officers to the applicant’s village in India to conduct an investigation through a site visit. The officers interviewed the applicant’s mother who allegedly made unfavourable comments regarding the applicant's relationship with his wife, saying among things that he was only in the marriage for the visa. The Department of Immigration believed the motives for the marriage were not honourable and put this to the applicant for comment.  

The applicant continued to self-represent and his partner visa was refused. He went through several stages of the appeal process before securing representation. His lawyer, a good friend of ours, managed to successfully represent him in the Federal Court. This meant the applicant got a second chance at obtaining a partner visa and he was referred to us for that process.

We managed to establish that the couple were in a committed and genuine relationship. We adduced over 2 dozen statements from witnesses who knew the couple, years of bank statements and well over 100 photos. By the end of it we had well over 300 pages of documentation proving they were in a relationship.   

We deliberately set out to overwhelm the decision-maker with relationship evidence so that they could not rely on the site visit to India to refuse the visa again. Ultimately, the decision-maker had no choice but to conclude the applicant and the sponsor were in a genuine and committed relationship. This was a satisfying result for a couple who had spent over 5 years navigating the visa appeals system and came very close to having to either split up their family or move to India.

The partner visa process should not take 5 years.  Engaging a law firm who knows what they are doing is the best guarantee of an efficient and successful application process.  The team at William Gerard Legal will take care of the visa application so you can take care of your family.  We aim to deliver certainty and peace of mind so that you will have more time to work on creating the life you deserve in Australia.