Melka (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of a visa applicant seeking a Class AH Subclass 117 (Orphan Relative) visa. The applicant, born in Ethiopia in 2000, arrived in Australia in 2011 and was sponsored by her aunt, who was an Australian permanent resident at the time of the visa application. The applicant claimed her father had disappeared in South Africa in June 2015 and that her mother's whereabouts were unknown since she was very young.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the definition of an "orphan relative" as defined by the Migration Regulations. This required determining if the whereabouts of both her parents were unknown, or if they were deceased or permanently incapacitated. The Tribunal also considered the evidence provided to support these claims, including affidavits and a letter from Ethiopian police, and whether this evidence sufficiently established the parents' unknown whereabouts.

The Tribunal found that the evidence presented was insufficient to support the claim that the applicant's mother's whereabouts were unknown. While an affidavit and a letter from Ethiopian authorities were submitted regarding the father's disappearance, the Tribunal noted a lack of official reports to the South African authorities and inconsistencies in the documentation provided. Specifically, a document claimed to be from the South African Police Service lacked crucial details, and the father's name did not appear on the South African Police website's missing persons list. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not meet the definition of an orphan relative at the time of her application.

Despite affirming the decision to refuse the visa, the Tribunal acknowledged that there were compelling and compassionate aspects to the applicant's circumstances. The Tribunal indicated that these aspects would be considered in relation to potential ministerial intervention.