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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the application of Ms. Minogue for review of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs' decision to refuse her application to renounce her Australian citizenship under section 33 of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). The central dispute concerned whether Ms. Minogue was a national or citizen of a foreign country at the time she applied to renounce her Australian citizenship.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether Ms. Minogue was a national or citizen of a foreign country at the time of her renunciation application. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider whether her eligibility for citizenship by descent under section 4C of the *British Nationality Act 1981* (UK) rendered her a citizen of the United Kingdom for the purposes of section 33(2)(b) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007*, even though she had not yet been registered as such under the UK legislation.

The Tribunal reasoned that section 33(2)(b) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* requires an applicant for renunciation to be a national or citizen of a foreign country at the time of the application. While Ms. Minogue was eligible for citizenship by descent under the *British Nationality Act 1981*, she had not been registered as a British citizen at the time of her renunciation application. The Tribunal concluded that eligibility alone did not equate to being a national or citizen of a foreign country for the purposes of the Australian Act. Therefore, the reviewable decision to refuse the renunciation application was affirmed.