Mohamed (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Child (Migrant) (Class AH) visa, specifically Subclass 117 (Orphan Relative), before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The applicants sought to establish that they were orphan relatives of an Australian relative, a criterion essential for the visa grant.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the visa applicants met the definition of "orphan relative" as defined in Regulation 1.14 of the Migration Regulations 1994. This involved assessing whether the applicants were under 18, not in a relationship, a relative of an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen, and crucially, whether they could not be cared for by either parent because each parent was dead, permanently incapacitated, or of unknown whereabouts.

The Tribunal found that while the review applicant was an Australian permanent resident and accepted as a relative of the visa applicants, the applicants failed to satisfy the "orphan relative" criteria. Specifically, the Tribunal noted that the applicants provided counterfeit death certificates for their father and step-mother, and failed to provide genuine death certificates or burial permits for them. Furthermore, no evidence was presented to suggest the parents were permanently incapacitated or of unknown whereabouts. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicants were not orphan relatives of an Australian relative at the time of application or at the time of the decision.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal affirmed the decisions not to grant the visa applicants the Child (Migrant) (Class AH) visas, as the criteria for the Subclass 117 visa were not met.