DLSV and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for citizenship by conferral under the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The applicant, a minor born in Australia, had their application refused by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. The core of the dispute concerned whether the applicant was stateless and, consequently, whether they were entitled to acquire foreign citizenship.

The Tribunal was required to determine two primary legal issues. Firstly, whether the applicant was stateless within the meaning of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007*. Secondly, if the applicant was stateless, whether this statelessness entitled them to acquire foreign citizenship, thereby impacting their eligibility for Australian citizenship by conferral.

Deputy President McCabe P found that the applicant was indeed stateless. The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant's parents were not citizens of any country and had not registered the applicant's birth in any foreign jurisdiction. This lack of citizenship in any other country meant the applicant met the definition of statelessness. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the Minister's decision and substituted it with a decision that the applicant was entitled to be registered as a citizen of Australia by conferral.