Marriage migration from below: The assessing of ‘genuineness’ among binational couples in Australia

Abstract

This article focuses on the Australian partner visa application process, as experienced by African-Australian couples in intimate heterosexual relationships. In Australia, similar to other Anglo-European countries, the visa application process is an increasingly complex procedure. In order to avoid sham marriages that are entered into for the sole purpose of obtaining residency, it heavily scrutinises couples’ relationships and motives for marriage migration. This article explores marriage migration ‘from below’, by looking at how the Australian Government utilises the idea of ‘genuineness’ in order to establish the sincere character of binational relationships, and in turn, how this bureaucratic focus affects couples and their intimate relationships. I argue that the visa application process is distrusting of binational couples, which produces various outcomes: it obstructs intimacy and romance as experienced by couples; rather than fostering equality as desired by the Government, it generates a dependency among couples whereby female sponsoring spouses are ascribed more power than their foreign partners; and the non-transparent and lengthy procedure, as a form of structural violence against binational couples, affects couples’ ontological security.