Nguyen and Minister for Home Affairs (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision by the Minister for Home Affairs to revoke Mr Nguyen's Australian citizenship. Mr Nguyen had entered Australia in 1999 on a student visa under a false name, Manh Chinh Nguyen, having forged a passport. He subsequently became an unlawful non-citizen and was convicted of shoplifting and fraud offences in 2002, leading to his detention and assisted departure from Australia. He later re-entered Australia on a spouse visa under his birth name, Van Khuong Nguyen, and was granted permanent residency in 2007. The Minister's decision to revoke his citizenship was based on serious breaches of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth) and the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), and the assessment that he was not otherwise of good character, making it contrary to the public interest for him to remain an Australian citizen.

The court was required to determine whether the Minister's decision to revoke Mr Nguyen's citizenship was correct, and whether the discretion not to revoke citizenship should be exercised in his favour. This involved considering the integrity of Australia's visa and citizenship programs, the seriousness of Mr Nguyen's past conduct, including his use of false identities and criminal convictions, and whether his explanations for these actions demonstrated sufficient remorse or understanding of their gravity to warrant retaining his citizenship.

The court found that Mr Nguyen had committed serious breaches of Australian law, including using false identities and providing misleading information in visa applications. His explanations for these actions, attributing them to youthful infatuation and naivety, were not considered sufficient to outweigh the public interest in maintaining the integrity of the citizenship program. The court noted that Mr Nguyen had used multiple names and had a history of dishonesty in his dealings with immigration authorities. Ultimately, the court was not satisfied that the discretion to retain citizenship should be exercised in his favour, finding that the public interest in revoking his citizenship was paramount.

The decision under review, the revocation of Mr Nguyen's Australian citizenship, was affirmed.