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

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral made by Mr Juma Shaie Hemaidi Awadh Alshemeri. The application was refused by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs on the grounds that the delegate was not satisfied of the applicant's identity, as required by section 24(3) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The applicant sought review of this decision before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was satisfied of the applicant's identity for the purposes of granting citizenship. This required the Tribunal to consider the evidence presented by the applicant, which included a statutory declaration, a Titre de Voyage, a Pensioner Concession Card, a Western Australian driver's licence and photo card, a Medicare card, motor vehicle insurance, and a bank confirmation letter. The Tribunal also considered requests made by the Department for further documentation, including original arrival documents, passports, school and military records, employment records, and birth certificates for overseas-born children, as well as completed Forms 80 and 1399.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the legislative requirement for a decision-maker to be satisfied of an applicant's identity before granting citizenship, noting the significant weight given to identification documents. The Tribunal observed inconsistencies in the documentation provided by the applicant, particularly concerning his Kuwaiti driver's licence. This licence, when provided with the citizenship application, listed an expiry date of 14 February 2001 and the name Juma Shaie Hermaidi. However, a licence with the same name but an expiry date of 4 February 1992 was provided in 2012 to support an application for a protection visa, with the name listed as Joumaa Elshameri. The Tribunal also noted the applicant's status as an irregular maritime arrival in 2012 and the lack of original primary documentation, such as a birth certificate, which the applicant claimed he was unable to obtain due to being stateless.

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the application for Australian citizenship by conferral. The Tribunal was not satisfied of the applicant's identity, finding that the provided documentation did not sufficiently establish it, particularly in light of the noted discrepancies.