Afzali and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for citizenship by conferral made by Mr Afzali, which also included his minor son. The delegate of the Minister refused Mr Afzali's application, and separately refused the application made by his minor son, on the basis that Mr Afzali had not successfully completed the citizenship test. Mr Afzali sought review of the decision to refuse his citizenship application. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Afzali had successfully completed the citizenship test and whether he was exempt from this requirement.

The Tribunal considered the evidence regarding Mr Afzali's attempts to complete the citizenship test, noting he sat the test on eight occasions over three separate days but failed to achieve 100 per cent on the "values questions" in any attempt. The Tribunal also considered Mr Afzali's claims of functional illiteracy, corroborated by his employer, but found no independent evidence of a disability or permanent incapacity that would exempt him from the test under section 21(3) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The Tribunal applied section 21(2A) of the Act, which mandates successful completion of the citizenship test for general eligibility, and noted that Mr Afzali did not fall into any of the stipulated exempt categories.

The Tribunal concluded that Mr Afzali had not successfully completed the citizenship test, which is a mandatory requirement for citizenship by conferral under section 21(2)(e) of the Act, unless an exemption applies. As Mr Afzali did not meet any exemption criteria, his application could not be approved. The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the application. Mr Afzali was advised that he could lodge a fresh application and explore special arrangements for the test if needed, and that his permanent visa status remained unaffected.