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

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral by DCXT, an Egyptian citizen. The delegate of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs had refused DCXT's application on 1 March 2019, finding that he was not of good character at the time of the decision. The Tribunal was required to determine whether it was satisfied that DCXT met the good character requirement for Australian citizenship at the time of the Tribunal's decision.

The central legal issue was whether DCXT possessed the requisite "good character" as defined by Australian citizenship law. The Tribunal considered the ordinary meaning of "good character" as referring to enduring moral qualities, the ability to distinguish right from wrong, ethical behaviour, and conformity to Australian societal values, as established in cases such as *Irving v Minister for Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs*. The Tribunal also had regard to the Citizenship Policy, which reinforces that good character indicates an applicant's likelihood to uphold and obey Australian laws.

The Tribunal found that DCXT had been unlawfully present in Australia for a total of approximately nine years, which represented almost 40% of his time in the country. While acknowledging that DCXT had expressed remorse and had made efforts to regularise his status, the Tribunal concluded that his prolonged period of unlawful presence demonstrated a failure to respect and abide by Australian law. The Tribunal noted that DCXT had not accepted four previous decisions refusing his visa claims and had evaded migration authorities during his period of unlawfulness. Despite evidence from supporters and DCXT's own remorse, the Tribunal was not positively persuaded that he was of good character at the time of its decision.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse DCXT's application for Australian citizenship.