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

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral made by FXYV. The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs had refused the application. The applicant sought review of this decision before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the general residence requirement for citizenship by conferral, as stipulated in section 22 of the *Citizenship Act 1948* (Cth), and whether the applicant satisfied the special residence requirements, which would allow for the exercise of ministerial discretion. The Tribunal was required to interpret the provisions of section 22, including the conditions relating to periods of absence from Australia within the four years and twelve months immediately preceding the application.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's movement records, which indicated an absence from Australia for 143 days in the twelve months prior to lodging their application on 27 April 2017. While the applicant met the requirement of being present in Australia for the four years immediately before the application, with absences not exceeding 12 months in total, they failed to meet the requirement under section 22(1)(c) that they be present in Australia as a permanent resident for the twelve months immediately before the application. Section 22(1B) of the Act specifies that absences during this twelve-month period cannot exceed 90 days. The Tribunal noted that the applicant accepted this absence of 143 days and that it was not contested that they were a permanent resident during this period. The Tribunal also referred to previous decisions emphasizing that departmental policy documents are aids to interpretation and that the words of the statute itself are paramount.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding that the applicant did not satisfy the general residence requirement as set out in section 22(1)(c) of the *Citizenship Act 1948* (Cth).