Successful citizenship appeal
On 23 October 2020, we successfully sought review of a decision to refuse our client, Mr Ali (not his real name), citizenship.
Mr Ali is from Yemen and is the holder of a protection visa. He applied for Australian citizenship by conferral in 2015, having lived in Australia for more than 4 years. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship in considering his application were concerned about his identity. While the Department had accepted his identity for the purposes of granting him a protection visa, they considered this issue much more closely when it came to his citizenship application.
Mr Ali arrived in Australia without any identity documents. Given the security situation in Yemen, it was very difficult for Mr Ali to get any identity documents but he ultimately managed to do so and supplied a national ID card to the Department. Unfortunately, the Department sent the national ID card for expert analysis and an opinion came back that it was a bogus document. The Department sent this opinion to Mr Ali and asked him to comment, Mr Ali confirmed that to the best of his knowledge it was a genuine document. The Department rejected this explanation and refused Mr Ali’s citizenship application on the basis that the Department was not satisfied of Mr Ali’s identity. The Department also refused Mr Ali’s citizenship application on the basis that the Department was not satisfied he was of good character (due to the Department’s opinion that Mr Ali had provided a bogus document in support of his citizenship application).
Mr Ali applied to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of the Department’s decision to refuse his application for Australian citizenship by conferral. We came into the matter at this point. Over the following 2 years, we gathered significant evidence about Mr Ali’s identity and character. We got DNA samples from his parents in Yemen and demonstrated that he was their child. We got references from the Yemeni Embassy in Indonesia and a police officer in Yemen. We had an expert provide an opinion about the genuineness of Mr Ali’s identity card. We got statements from Mr Ali and people who knew him. By the end of this process, and after considering our written submissions, the Department conceded the application for review before the Tribunal and accepted Mr Ali’s identity and that he was of good character.
Mr Ali will now be granted citizenship in short order after he provides an up to date police clearance and sits his citizenship test. We wish him all the best for the future.