Question 1

20 Marks, 1000 Words

Scenario

Xavier is a 45-year-old Colombian citizen. In September 2017 he was granted a subclass 189- Skilled (Independent) (Permanent) (Class SI) visa based on his skilled occupation of 'Software Engineer.'

His subclass 189 application was lodged and granted offshore and Xavier arrived in Australia (Sydney) in January 2018. It did not take long for him to find full time employment in his skilled occupation in the Sydney CBD. The company that employs him, is the subsidiary of a Colombian company, based in his hometown of Medellin. Not only does this mean, his Spanish language skills make him an asset to the company in Australia, it also means that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, he travelled to and from Colombia for work, on a monthly basis.

In July 2018, whilst back in Colombia on one of his business trips, he was invited to a high school reunion. There, he ran into Maria, his girlfriend from back in his high school days. The two of them reconnected immediately and spent hours chatting about the past 25 years in which they had not seen each other. Maria confided that she divorced her husband, (the Father of her only son Andres, 19 years old) back in 2016 and has been living on her own in an apartment since then.

After his return to Australia one week later, Xavier and Maria continued to talk on the phone every weekend and communicated daily on WhatsApp. Occasionally he would also send Maria money for some repairs around the house or so she could buy herself something nice.

From August 2018 onwards, upon his monthly work trip to Colombia, Xavier always stayed with Maria in her apartment. After work, the two would cook dinner together and as far as Xavier's schedule allowed, visit family and friends together. Maria would also accompany Xavier to visit his elderly Mother - his Father passed away several years ago. Maria's son Andres also visited sometimes for weeknight dinners after university. He gets along well with Xavier and is glad to see his Mother happy. On Christmas eve 2018, Xavier asked Maria to marry him and she said yes. The wedding was held in a small countryside Church, in the Andes Mountains near Medellin, in July 2019. With close friends and immediate family.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, Xavier has not been able to see his wife Maria and due to the ongoing pandemic situation in Colombia, he schedules a zoom consultation with you, about Maria's options for coming to Australia permanently. After the meeting, you sit down to prepare a detailed letter of advice.

• The eligibility criteria for the subclass 309/100 visa.

• Your assessment about whether a successful outcome is likely
• If there is any further specific information that you need to ensure your advice is thorough and complete, request this information