Mheich and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for review before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, brought by Mr Mheich against a decision of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. Mr Mheich sought to have set aside the Minister's delegate's refusal of his application for Australian citizenship. Crucially, Mr Mheich also sought an extension of time to lodge his application for review, as it was filed significantly after the prescribed period.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr Mheich possessed a permanent or enduring physical or mental incapacity at the time he made his citizenship application, which rendered him incapable of demonstrating a basic knowledge of the English language, as required by section 21(3)(d)(ii) of the relevant Act. A secondary issue was whether to grant Mr Mheich an extension of time to lodge his application for review.

The Tribunal considered a letter from a clinical psychologist, Dr Girgis, which indicated that Mr Mheich had psychological difficulties following a motor vehicle accident, that his literacy skills would cause him difficulty learning new information, and that his psychological symptoms interfered with his cognitive ability to perform during the citizenship test. However, the Tribunal found that Dr Girgis's report did not definitively establish that Mr Mheich's difficulties were due to a condition that would prevent him from undertaking an English language course. The Tribunal noted that it was open to Mr Mheich to lodge a further citizenship application, supported by more specific medical opinion regarding his capacity to learn English or whether a condition prevented him from doing so. The Tribunal accepted that Mr Mheich had a valid reason for the delay in lodging his review application, as he was overseas and experienced difficulties obtaining a copy of the delegate's decision.