Kiangali (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Child (Residence) (Class BT) visa, Subclass 802, made by an eight-year-old boy born in Papua New Guinea. The applicant was sponsored by Benson Kiangali, an Australian permanent resident, who identified the applicant as his "natural child." The applicant's mother was identified as Rennie Pisak. The Department of Home Affairs had requested DNA testing, indicating insufficient evidence to demonstrate the child-parent relationship, and also questioned the late registration of the applicant's birth. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the evidence, including birth certificates, consent forms, and statutory declarations, as well as the sponsor's assertion of financial, emotional, and physical care and responsibility from birth.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for a Subclass 802 visa, specifically concerning the child-parent relationship and the definition of a "dependent child" in the context of the visa subclass. This involved assessing whether the evidence sufficiently established the claimed relationship, even in the absence of definitive DNA test results at that stage, and considering the broader aspects of care and responsibility beyond biological parentage. The Tribunal also had to address the discrepancy in the birth registration date.

The Tribunal reasoned that while DNA testing was offered due to insufficient evidence, the existing documentation, including the sponsor's declaration of financial support and the mother's consent for the sponsor to assume full care and responsibility, provided a basis for finding that the applicant met certain criteria. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant met the criteria under cl 802.212 and cl 802.221 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the application for reconsideration by the Minister, directing that these specific criteria were met.