Kalizeti (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision made under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) concerning a Child (Migrant) (Class AH) visa, Subclass 117 (Orphan relative). The applicant sought to establish that the child's mother was of unknown whereabouts, a criterion for the visa. The court was required to determine whether the evidence presented sufficiently demonstrated that extensive searches had been conducted to locate the applicant's biological mother.

The legal issues before the court revolved around the adequacy of the evidence of searches for the applicant's mother. Specifically, the court had to consider statutory declarations provided by the applicant's agent, which included statements from three residents of Bunia. These declarations detailed searches undertaken between 2007 and 2019, including inquiries in refugee camps, cities, churches, markets, and through radio broadcasts. The court was tasked with assessing whether these documented efforts met the requirements for establishing that the mother's whereabouts remained unknown.

The court accepted the veracity of the statutory declarations provided, which described extensive and varied searches for the applicant's mother, Esperence Nzale, conducted by multiple individuals over a significant period. These searches included inquiries in refugee camps in Uganda between 2007 and 2014, and within the Democratic Republic of Congo between 2007 and 2019, encompassing various markets, displaced persons camps, and commercial and mining centres. Radio broadcasts were also undertaken to locate her. The court found that these efforts, initiated and paid for by the applicant's sister-in-law, demonstrated a genuine and thorough attempt to find Esperence Nzale, and that despite these endeavours, her whereabouts remained unknown. The decision under review was remitted.