1907871 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviewed a decision to cancel a protection visa held by a stateless Faili Kurd, who claimed Iraqi or Iranian citizenship. The dispute centred on allegations of incorrect answers provided in the visa application concerning the applicant's citizenship and that of their grandparents, parents, uncles, and aunts, and the validity of the notice issued under section 107 of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the section 107 notice was valid and sufficient, specifically whether it provided adequate particulars of the alleged non-compliance and allowed the applicant a meaningful opportunity to respond. Furthermore, the Tribunal had to consider whether the decision-maker was genuinely satisfied that the applicant had failed to comply with the requirements of section 101 of the Act, and if so, whether the power to cancel the visa under section 109 was enlivened.

The Tribunal found that the section 107 notice was invalid because it failed to provide the source of the information regarding the purported citizenship of the applicant's grandparents, thereby preventing the applicant from having a real opportunity to understand and meaningfully respond to the allegations. The notice also did not reference possible Iraqi citizenship. Even if the notice were considered valid, the Tribunal was not satisfied that there was a genuine state of satisfaction regarding the non-compliance.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the delegate's decision and substituted a new decision that the power to cancel the visa under section 109 was not enlivened.