1727951 (Migration)

The applicant sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs to cancel their Subclass 155 (Five Year Resident Return) visa. The cancellation was based on the applicant having provided incorrect information in a previous visa application, specifically concerning claims of an adverse profile and being a target of a non-state actor militia, which the Minister considered to be false.

The primary legal issue before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia was whether the applicant had, in fact, provided incorrect information in their previous visa application, thereby engaging the ground for cancellation under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). This required the court to assess the veracity of the applicant's claims regarding their persecution and the circumstances of their voluntary returns to their country.

His Honour Judge Dragovic found that the evidence did not support the conclusion that the applicant had provided incorrect information. The court accepted that the applicant had indeed been a target of a militia and that their voluntary returns to their country were undertaken to avoid persecution. Consequently, the Minister's decision to cancel the applicant's visa was set aside.