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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviewed a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs to refuse Mr Avdi Molla's application for Australian citizenship by conferral. The refusal was based on the delegate's dissatisfaction with Mr Molla's identity, which consequently prohibited the approval of his application under section 24(3) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth).

The Tribunal was required to determine whether it was satisfied as to Mr Molla's identity, given discrepancies in his identity documents. These discrepancies included conflicting dates and places of birth, and variations in his first and middle names, as revealed by records obtained from Albanian authorities. The Tribunal also considered whether Mr Molla had provided an adequate explanation for these inconsistencies and the authenticity of official documents he provided from Albania.

The Tribunal found that Mr Molla had provided a satisfactory explanation for the discrepancies in his identity documents, attributing them to administrative errors by Albanian authorities. It accepted a certificate from the Republic of Albania, Municipality of Prrenjas, which clarified that the name "Avdi Molla" was transcribed incorrectly as "Ardi" in the National Register of Civil Status in 2009 and subsequently corrected in 2010. The certificate also addressed a mistaken registration of his date of birth. Based on this evidence and Mr Molla's life story, the Tribunal was satisfied as to his identity for the purposes of section 24(3) of the Act.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the delegate's decision and remitted the matter for reconsideration. The Tribunal directed that no prohibition under section 24(3) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* was to apply to Mr Molla's application.