De Guzman (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by Mr. De Guzman for a Visitor (Class TU) visa, subclass 600. The primary dispute concerned whether Mr. De Guzman satisfied the character requirements for the visa, specifically Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4001.

The legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr. De Guzman had provided sufficient evidence of his criminal history to satisfy PIC 4001. This criterion requires applicants to provide police clearance certificates from countries where they have resided for 12 months or more in the last 10 years, since turning 16. Regulation 2.03AA further stipulates that if requested by the Minister, applicants must provide such statements and a completed Form 80, unless the Minister waives the requirement due to unreasonableness.

The Tribunal noted that the Department had initially requested an Australian Federal Police (AFP) clearance and a National Bureau of Investigation Certificate from the Philippines. At that time, Mr. De Guzman had not responded or indicated any difficulty in obtaining these documents. However, by the time of the Tribunal's review, Mr. De Guzman had provided an AFP National Police Certificate stating no disclosable court outcomes as at March 2022, and a Philippine National Bureau of Investigation Certificate indicating no adverse events. The Tribunal was not aware of any other countries of residence.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application with a direction that Mr. De Guzman met PIC 4001 for the purposes of subclause 600.213(1).