1924721 (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the claims of several applicants seeking Child (Migrant) (Class AH) visas, specifically Subclass 117 (Orphan Relative). The dispute centred on whether the applicants qualified as orphan relatives of an Australian sponsor, a requirement for this visa subclass. The applicants claimed their parents were deceased or of unknown whereabouts due to conflict, and one sister had died of illness, but failed to provide documentary evidence or make inquiries with missing persons services.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine if the remaining applicants met the criteria for an orphan relative under Regulation 1.14 of the Migration Regulations 1994. This involved assessing whether the applicants were under 18, had no partner, were a relative of an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen, and crucially, whether they could not be cared for by either parent because each parent was dead, permanently incapacitated, or of unknown whereabouts. The Tribunal also considered the requirement that there be no compelling reason to believe a visa grant would not be in the applicant's best interests.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicants bore the responsibility to supply facts in necessary detail to satisfy the visa criteria. Despite claims regarding the death or disappearance of parents and a sister, the applicants had not provided sufficient documentary evidence or made inquiries with relevant services to substantiate these claims. Furthermore, one applicant had turned 18 at the time of the decision, and another application had been withdrawn. As the applicants failed to meet all aspects of the definition of an "orphan relative," the Tribunal concluded that the criteria for the grant of a Subclass 117 visa were not met.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decisions not to grant the Child (Migrant) (Class AH) visas to the applicants.