Awudu (Migration)

This matter concerned a review of a decision not to grant a Child (Migrant) (Class AH) visa, subclass 101, to the visa applicant. The review applicant, an Australian citizen, had initially sponsored the visa applicant, claiming the visa applicant was her step-child. The dispute arose because the review applicant subsequently withdrew her sponsorship, alleging the visa applicant had provided bogus documents and that she had been misled by the visa applicant's father. The decision was made by Senior Member Justin Owen of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the visa applicant met the criteria for the grant of a Subclass 101 visa, specifically concerning the requirement for sponsorship to be in force at the time of the decision. This involved determining whether the review applicant's withdrawal of sponsorship was valid and whether any grounds existed to waive the sponsorship requirement under Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4020. The Tribunal also considered the validity of the sponsorship at the time of application, as well as the visa applicant's age and relationship to the sponsor.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the visa applicant was initially sponsored by an eligible Australian citizen at the time of application, the critical criterion under cl. 101.222 required the sponsorship to be approved and still in force at the time of the decision. The Tribunal accepted evidence that the review applicant had formally withdrawn her sponsorship and had stated that the reason for this withdrawal was the provision of doctored and fraudulent documents by the visa applicant. Given the withdrawal of sponsorship and the lack of satisfactory grounds to waive the requirements of PIC 4020, the Tribunal concluded that the sponsorship was no longer in force at the time of the decision.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa applicant a Child (Migrant) (Class AH) visa, subclass 101, as the criteria for the grant of the visa were not met.