Brisbane man's wife given 28 days to leave the country

The wife of a Brisbane man has been told she has 28 days to leave the country after her partner visa was rejected, despite having lived in Australia for seven years.

Barbara Sanchez, who is a dual Italian and Argentinian citizen, married her long-term boyfriend Lyndon Tyers, in January 2015.

The pair had hopes of settling down and starting a family together, but now face having to move to another country before July 12 to avoid being torn apart.

Ms Sanchez’s visa was rejected because, legally, Australian citizens are only allowed to apply for two partner visas in their lifetime and the applications must be made at least five years apart.

Four years ago, Mr Tyers applied for a partner visa for his previous girlfriend.

The pair broke up just after Mr Tyers' ex-girlfriend was notified her visa application had been successful. The visa was cancelled and she moved back to France.

Mr Tyers and Ms Sanchez met while working at the same Melbourne restaurant and dated for more than a year before getting married.

“When we were applying for Barbara’s visa I knew, I had a feeling this (previous visa) was going to make things difficult,” Mr Tyers, who works as head events chef at Blackbird Restaurant, told Nine.com.au.

“I called the Immigration and Border Protection hotline, and I asked one of the operators there if this was going to be a problem and they said, ‘No, just go ahead and apply for it’.”

The couple paid the $7000 fee for their application but were given the devastating news last year that Ms Sanchez’s application had been rejected.

Ms Sanchez and Mr Tyers appealed the decision but were told at an Administrative Appeals Tribunal hearing two weeks ago that their appeal had been dismissed.

“It was a shock to us. I thought it was just going to be passed, I didn’t really think that they would just be so cold about it. They just don’t really care,” Mr Tyers said.

“For us, it’s devastating. We’re married. We’re trying to go on with our life and we’re not young anymore.

“I’m 34 soon and Barbara’s 33, so we’re looking at starting a family and doing these sort of things and you just can’t now, especially, because if Barbara has to leave again, by the time she comes back she’ll be 35.

“If Barbara has to leave then of course I’m going to go with her, I’ll do whatever it takes to stay with her but that means leaving my job, leaving all my family here.”

Ms Sanchez, who also works as a chef and had previously been staying in Australia on a student visa, told Nine.com.au the visa decision had come at a particularly difficult time for her and her husband after she had suffered a miscarriage in January.

“It’s just been a nightmare, and really heartbreaking,” she said.

“We can’t live and start our lives. My husband is a very well-known chef, he can’t start again somewhere else. I don’t think it’s right to do this to an Australian citizen.

“What are my husband’s rights? Let’s forget about myself. He is an Australian citizen being told your wife has to go and if you want to live with her it’s got to be somewhere else.”

Ms Sanchez and Mr Tyers have been told they must now wait another year, until the five-year limitation has passed, before they can reapply for a partner visa at a further cost of $7000.

A judgement handed down by Administrative Appeals Tribunal member Michelle Grau found there were “no compelling circumstances” to waive the five-year sponsorship limitation for the couple.

The tribunal found that while Mr Tyers' ex-girlfriend had left Australia before the permanent visa was granted, she was granted a temporary partner visa in 2013 and the sponsorship limitation therefore still applied.

When contacted by nine.com.au about the couple’s plight, a spokesman for Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said the minister would consider the case.

It is understood that Ms Sanchez would in this circumstance be granted a temporary visa while the matter is under consideration.