1702089 (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a decision to cancel the Subclass 202 (Global Special Humanitarian) visa granted to the applicant. The applicant, who was a minor at the time of her original visa application, had arrived in Australia in 2009. The dispute arose when the Department of Immigration issued a notice of intention to cancel her visa, alleging that the initial application contained incorrect information regarding her mother's status and her own status as an orphan.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant's Subclass 202 visa was granted based on incorrect information or a bogus document, and if so, whether the visa should be cancelled. Specifically, the Tribunal had to assess the accuracy of the declarations made in the 2008 visa application concerning the applicant's deceased parents and her status as an adopted orphan, in light of information provided in a subsequent visa application lodged by her mother in 2012.

The Tribunal found that the applicant's mother was not deceased at the time the visa was granted. It accepted that the applicant was separated from her parents during the Somalian civil war at a young age and had no knowledge of their whereabouts, leading her to believe they were deceased. The Tribunal also accepted that the applicant was culturally adopted by Ms A, who was her aunt. Crucially, the Tribunal found that Ms A, who could not read or write, relied on a third party to complete the visa application form and that this individual misinterpreted Ms A's statement that the applicant's parents were missing as meaning they were deceased. Given the applicant's age and lack of involvement in the application process, the Tribunal concluded that there were strong grounds not to cancel the visa.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the decision under review and substituted a decision not to cancel the applicant's Subclass 202 visa.