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

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral made by Mr. Gowda. The central dispute revolved around whether Mr. Gowda held a permanent visa, a prerequisite for citizenship by conferral. The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs contended that Mr. Gowda did not satisfy this requirement. The decision was made by Magistrate McGrowdie in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether a Special Category (Temporary) visa (subclass 444) should be regarded as a permanent visa for the purposes of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). This question was critical to determining if Mr. Gowda met the eligibility criteria for citizenship by conferral, specifically the requirement to be the holder of a permanent visa at the time of his application.

Magistrate McGrowdie reasoned that the *Australian Citizenship Regulations 2016* (Cth) expressly stipulated that a Special Category (Temporary) visa is not to be regarded as a permanent visa. Applying this regulation, the Tribunal concluded that Mr. Gowda, holding only a Special Category (Temporary) visa, did not meet the definition of a permanent visa holder. Consequently, he was ineligible to apply for citizenship by conferral. The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review.