1611744 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an appeal by three applicants against a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal regarding their applications for a protection visa. The applicants claimed they feared racial harassment and discrimination in Nigeria. The first two applicants, born in Germany, claimed German citizenship since birth and stated they were not citizens or nationals of any other country. The third applicant, born in Nigeria, stated he was a German citizen but had been a Nigerian citizen at birth until May 2005.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the third applicant had ceased to be a Nigerian citizen upon naturalising as a German citizen, and consequently, whether Australia owed protection obligations to him. This involved an examination of the German Nationality Act and the Nigerian Constitution to determine the conditions under which Nigerian citizenship might be lost, particularly in light of the third applicant's claim of dual citizenship and his assertion that he had not renounced or rescinded his Nigerian citizenship. The court also considered the provisions of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) concerning protection obligations and the circumstances under which a non-citizen might have a right to enter and reside in a third country.

The court found that the third applicant had not ceased to be a Nigerian citizen upon becoming a German citizen. It applied the principles of the German Nationality Act and the Nigerian Constitution, which indicated that Nigerian citizenship was not automatically lost upon acquiring another nationality. The court determined that the third applicant retained his Nigerian citizenship and, therefore, Australia had protection obligations towards him. The Tribunal's decision was substituted to reflect this finding.