Neoh Weng Fei and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral made by Joshua Neoh Weng Fei, which was refused by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection on residence grounds. Mr Neoh sought review of this decision. The core of the dispute revolved around whether Mr Neoh met the general residence requirements for citizenship, specifically the need to have been "present in Australia" for four years immediately preceding his application.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Mr Neoh satisfied the requirement of being present in Australia for four years prior to his application for citizenship, and consequently, whether he met the general eligibility requirements for conferral of citizenship under the relevant provisions of the *Australian Citizenship Act 1948* (Cth). This involved interpreting the meaning of "present in Australia" and the deeming provision concerning absences from Australia.

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision, finding that Mr Neoh had not been present in Australia for the requisite four-year period immediately before lodging his application. The Tribunal noted that while Mr Neoh had spent significant time in Australia studying, his departures for overseas studies and other commitments meant he did not meet the continuous presence requirement. The deeming provision, which allows for absences of less than 12 months within the four-year period, did not assist Mr Neoh as his periods of absence exceeded this threshold, and crucially, the four-year period in question commenced when he was not present in Australia. Therefore, Mr Neoh failed to satisfy the general residence requirement under section 22(1)(a) and the general eligibility requirement under section 21(2)(c) of the Act.