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

This matter concerned an application by Ms. Chaang to renounce her Australian citizenship under section 33 of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs refused the application. Ms. Chaang sought review of this decision before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Ms. Chaang was a national or citizen of a foreign country at the time of her application to renounce Australian citizenship, as required by section 33(7) of the Act. This involved determining whether she retained her Malaysian citizenship, given that Malaysian law generally does not recognise dual citizenship and permits deprivation of citizenship upon acquiring foreign nationality. The Tribunal also considered whether the Department had adequately assessed the evidence presented by Ms. Chaang regarding her Malaysian citizenship status.

The Tribunal reasoned that while Malaysian law does not ordinarily permit dual citizenship, the Malaysian Constitution does not provide for automatic cessation of citizenship upon acquiring foreign nationality. Instead, the Malaysian Government has the discretion to deprive a person of their citizenship. The Tribunal found that the Department had placed undue emphasis on obtaining a specific letter from the Malaysian government, which Ms. Chaang was unable to procure because Malaysian authorities stated such letters were for foreigners only and confirmed her status as a Malaysian citizen. The Tribunal concluded that the evidence, including Ms. Chaang's Malaysian passport, identification card, and the statements from Malaysian immigration officials, sufficiently demonstrated she remained a Malaysian citizen.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the delegate's decision and approved Ms. Chaang's renunciation of Australian citizenship.