Paras and Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
[2012] AATA 915
•21 December 2012
[2012] AATA 915
Division GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION File Number
2012/0752
Re
Angela Paras
APPLICANT
And
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
RESPONDENT
DECISION
Tribunal Regina Perton, Member Date 21 December 2012 Place Melbourne The Tribunal affirms the decision under review.
.............................[sgd]...........................................
Regina Perton, Member
CITIZENSHIP – renunciation of Australian citizenship – application for resumption – reason for renunciation relevant - whether renounced to avoid suffering significant hardship or detriment – decision affirmed
Australian Citizenship Act 1948
Australian Citizenship Act 2007ss 29, 30
Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 ss 18(1), 18(4)Australian Citizenship Instructions Chapter 7
Drake v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (No.2) (1979) 2 ALD 634
REASONS FOR DECISION
Regina Perton, Member
21 December 2012
Angela Paras (also known as Evangelia Paraskevopoulou) is a 76 year old former citizen of Australia. She was born in Greece and migrated to Australia with her parents when she was 12 years old. She obtained Australian citizenship on 14 May 1959. She did not lose her Greek citizenship on attaining Australian citizenship. In 1968, Ms Paras and her mother returned to Greece declaring it a permanent move. On 22 November 1972, the then 36 year old renounced her Australian citizenship. Her Declaration of Renunciation was registered on 10 April 1973.
In February 1998, Ms Paras lodged an application with the Australian Embassy in Athens seeking the resumption of her Australian citizenship. This was subsequently refused by the Minister’s delegate in August 1999 and the decision affirmed by this Tribunal, differently constituted, in March 2001.
On 6 July 2011, Ms Paras lodged a fresh application for resumption of Australian citizenship. The Minister’s delegate refused the application on 15 December 2011. On 14 June 2012 Ms Paras lodged an application with this Tribunal.
RELEVANT LEGISLATION AND POLICY GUIDELINES
When Ms Paras obtained her Australian citizenship in 1959 and when she renounced it, the governing legislation was the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 (the old Act). The name was changed in late 1973 to the Australian Citizenship Act 1948. Ms Paras’s application lodged in 2011 is to be considered under the current law, namely the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (the Act).
Section 29(3) of the Act applies to Ms Paras’s application under review:
Cessation under old Act
(3) A person is eligible to become an Australian citizen again under this Subdivision if:
(a) the person ceased to be an Australian citizen under:
…
(ii) section 18 (about renunciation) of the old Act in order to acquire or retain the nationality or citizenship of a foreign country or to avoid suffering significant hardship or detriment;
(b) if the person is aged 18 or over at the time the person made the application—the Minister is satisfied that the person is of good character at the time of the Minister’s decision on the application.
Section 30 of the act states that:
30 Minister’s decision
(1) If a person makes an application under section 29, the Minister must, by writing, approve or refuse to approve the person becoming an Australian citizen again.
(1A) The Minister must not approve the person becoming an Australian citizen again unless the person is eligible to become an Australian citizen again under subsection 29(2) or (3).
(2) The Minister may refuse to approve the person becoming an Australian citizen again despite the person being eligible to become an Australian citizen again under subsection 29(2) or (3).
Section 18(1) of the old Act stated:
Where, under the law of some country other than Australia, an Australian citizen acquires, at birth or whilst not of full age or by reason of marriage, the nationality or citizenship of that country, he may at any time after attaining the age of twenty-one years or after the marriage, make a declaration renouncing his Australian citizenship.
Section 18(4) of the old Act provided:
Subject to the next succeeding subsection, the Minister shall register a declaration made under this section and thereupon the person making the declaration shall cease to be an Australian citizen.
The Australian Citizenship Instructions (ACIs) provide guidance on what constitutes significant hardship or detriment where a person has voluntarily renounced her citizenship. The Tribunal is required to have regard to the ACIs unless there are cogent reasons for not doing so (Drake v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (No.2) (1979) 2 ALD 634). The relevant provisions are as follow:
Cessation under old Act
…
Some people who renounced their Australian citizenship under the old Act did so for reasons other than to retain or acquire another citizenship, or to avoid significant hardship or detriment. People who renounced their citizenship for other reasons are not eligible to resume their citizenship.
…
Assessing significant hardship or detriment
If a person is claiming that they would have suffered significant hardship or detriment, the ordinary meaning of words in the legislation should be considered. The Macquarie Dictionary description is as follows
• "significant" - important; of consequence
• "hardship" - a condition that bears hard upon one
• "detriment" - loss, damage, or injury
• "economic" - pertaining to the production, distribution and use of income and wealth.
Example of hardship or detriment include:
•a requirement to pay higher taxes (for example where higher taxes may prevent a person being able to afford fundamental assets such as a family home)
•denial of the usual marital rights in relation to tax and inheritance laws on the death of a spouse or otherwise
•ineligibility to obtain a driver's licence which may affect a person's employment prospects
• denial of, or significant restrictions on access to social security benefits
•ineligibility to undertake formal courses of study and/or obtain certain education qualifications
• inability to access loans from financial institutions
• ineligibility to purchase or retain property
• loss of cultural or family heritage
•inability to allow their children to participate fully in the social, political and cultural life of their other country of residence
•difficulties in obtaining visas particularly when required to travel to several countries, frequently, in the course of employment
•inability for families to be treated as a unit when family members hold different passports
• requirement to apply regularly for residency and work permits.
The above list is by no means exhaustive. Where reasons are given that are not included in the above list, consideration should be given to whether the hardship or detriment is at a similar level to any of the examples. Decision makers must take full consideration as to the merits of each individual case.
When assessing the application to resume Australian citizenship (when citizenship was renounced), decision makers must:
• check the client's renunciation application and supporting records and
• ask the client the reason(s) why they renounced their Australian citizenship. If the client believes that they renounced their Australian citizenship to avoid significant hardship or detriment they can be asked to provide documentation to support their claims.
WHY DID MS PARAS RENOUNCE CITIZENSHIP?
Departmental records indicate that the officers at the Australian Embassy in Athens were somewhat concerned as to whether Ms Paras realized the consequences when she decided to renounce her Australian citizenship. She renounced her citizenship in a typed, personally signed letter dated 22 November 1972 addressed to the Secretary, Department of Immigration in Canberra with a copy to the Athens Embassy in which she stated, amongst other things:
…
In 1949 I immigrated to Australia with my parents…In 1958 or 1959 – I cannot recall the exact year - at Rockdale Town Hall, in Sydney, I became naturalized, thus acquiring the British-Australian naturalization, a certificate of which I have lost.
In 1968, however, I came back to Greece permanently – having the No….Greek passport, Department of Immigration of Australia No…. - and do not wish to have any more ties with Australia. I would appreciate, therefore, your sending me an official document certifying the loss of my British-Australian naturalization. I would be willing to renounce my naturalisation upon oath, if necessary.
…
On 13 December 1972 the Chief Migration Officer (CMO) in Athens sent a copy of the letter to Canberra. In his covering letter, the CMO stated:
A copy of a letter, addressed to the Secretary, Department of Immigration, Canberra from Mr. Iakovos Thomopoulos, attorney acting on behalf of Angela Paras, has been sent to this office “for information”.
2. Miss Paras has been interviewed at this Embassy by the Consul (on several occasions) and by our officers in connection with her desire to renounce her Australian Citizenship which, she claims, was acquired by naturalization in Sydney several years ago.
3. We consider that Miss Paras is suffering from some degree of mental disturbance and while she is rather vague about the whereabouts of her certificate of naturalization (at one stage she stated that it was returned to Melbourne office) she is quite adamant about wanting to renounce her Australian Citizenship, even though she cannot produce any evidence that she is in fact naturalized.
4. This lady is in possession of a valid Greek passport issued in Australia …
On 19 December 1972 a letter was sent to Ms Paras on behalf of the Secretary acknowledging her letter in which she advised that she wished to renounce her Australian citizenship. She was advised that the matter had been referred to the Chief Migration Officer in Athens who would contact her shortly. A note was sent to the Chief Migration Officer in Athens stating:
Referred for your action. It is not clear what the circumstances surrounding Mrs. Paras’s enquiry are. Please enquire into the matter and advise in due course.
The Australian authorities located details of Ms Paras’s naturalization. In a note dated 10 January 1973, a Departmental officer advised that Ms Paras appeared to be entitled to renounce her Australian citizenship but stated:
… However there does not appear to be any reason for Miss Paras wishing to renounce her Australian citizenship and it would not seem to gain anything for her in Greece since Greek becomes her master nationality in Greece. Please see the CMO Athens comments in paragraph 3 of this mean no of 13/12/72…
A note dated 24 January 1973 from the person to whom the above note was addressed states:
If she wishes to do so there is absolutely no reason why she cannot renounce under Section 18(1) of the Act.
On 10 April 1973 the Declaration of Renunciation of Citizenship was registered by Australian authorities.
Ms Paras provided extensive written submissions to the Department and to the Tribunal and gave oral evidence to the Tribunal by telephone. She spoke of the dilemmas she faces as she cannot obtain proof of what has happened to her and she has no-one to help her. Ms Paras said she has been persecuted and looked down upon by relatives and others because she was perceived as Australian rather than Greek. Her relatives had wanted to ensure that the ownership of properties inherited by her mother remained in Greek hands. Ms Paras described the ordeals she and her mother had gone through because of the behaviour and attitudes of her cousins and an uncle. This has affected not only her financial resources but also her personal life.
Ms Paras described the threats that she and her late mother experienced after they returned to Greece in 1968. Ms Paras believes that the circumstances surrounding her mother’s death in a Greek hospital are suspicious and told the Tribunal of attempts on her own life as well. This included keeping her in hospital after her mother’s death and treating her for a condition she did not have. Ms Paras does not trust the Greek health system and for many years visited other countries for any medical treatment she required.
Ms Paras described the difficulties she had with untrustworthy lawyers who were assisting her mother’s brothers in their attempts not to divide up their late father’s properties. Some of the properties which were rightly her mother’s inheritance were deliberately ruined to make them worthless. She indicated that the lawyer supposedly helping her when she renounced her citizenship was doing no such thing.
Ms Paras described many other actions taken by relatives that were detrimental to her. She said that she wanted to save her life and thought that she could only do that if she were Greek not Australian. Hence she renounced her Australian citizenship.
In one of her written submissions, Ms Paras had mentioned that her mother’s inheritance and subsequently hers was linked to the renunciation. Asked a specific question during the hearing as to whether she had renounced her citizenship because she was concerned about receiving her inheritance, Ms Paras denied that this was the reason for her renunciation. She conceded that there was no barrier to receipt of the inheritance due to her Australian citizenship. Both the Tribunal and Mr Etuati, representing the Minister, asked Ms Paras various questions as to why she renounced her citizenship but she inevitably returned to the attempts on her mother’s life and hers. She thought that if she renounced her Australian citizenship the attempts on her life might cease. However this has not been the case.
Ms Paras said that she had decided to reapply for Australian citizenship as it is impossible for her to stay in Greece in her current circumstances. She would like to be able to live somewhere peacefully.
Mr Etuati, representing the Minister, submitted that Ms Paras’s situation did not amount to a renunciation on the grounds of significant hardship or detriment. He pointed to the wording of Ms Paras’s letter of renunciation dated 22 November 1972 in which she stated that having come back to Greece permanently, she did not wish to have any more ties to Australia.
It is now almost 40 years since Ms Paras renounced her Australian citizenship. It is obviously quite difficult for a person to recall all the details and one’s motivation after such a lengthy period. The Tribunal tried to identify whether Ms Paras had renounced her Australian citizenship on grounds of significant hardship or detriment based on inheritances and any other of the relevant examples in the ACIs. The Tribunal is sympathetic to Ms Paras’s plight and can understand why she has had a change of mind about returning to Australia rather than remaining in Greece. However, it appears from the extensive written and oral evidence Ms Paras has provided that her motivation was to be seen as Greek and not as an Australian due to her perceptions of her relatives’ disapproval of her Australian citizenship. Such a reason for renunciation does not meet the requirements set out in s 29(3) of the Act.
DECISION
The Tribunal affirms the decision under review.
I certify that the preceding 24 (twenty -four) paragraphs are a true copy of the reasons for the decision herein of Regina Perton, Member. ........................[sgd]................................................
Administrative Assistant - Legal
Dated 21 December 2012
Date of hearing 1 November 2012 Applicant In person by telephone Advocate for the Respondent Mr T Etuati Solicitors for the Respondent Clayton Utz
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