Rajabu (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for Child (Migrant) (Class AH) visas, specifically Subclass 117 (Orphan relative), made by visa applicants who claimed to be the orphan relatives of an Australian relative. The core of the dispute concerned the evidence presented to demonstrate that the applicants' parents had passed away, which is a prerequisite for this visa subclass.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the evidence provided by the applicants sufficiently proved the death of their parents. This involved assessing the probative value of the death certificates submitted, particularly in the absence of contemporaneous records of the deaths, and considering the weight to be given to statements from school and community leaders in light of potential credibility issues.

The Senior Member, Kira Raif, reasoned that the evidence presented did not satisfy the criteria for the grant of a Subclass 117 visa. While statements from school and community leaders were provided, the lack of contemporaneous records and the perceived credibility issues associated with the submitted death certificates meant that the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicants' parents had indeed passed away. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decisions not to grant the visa applicants the Child (Migrant) (Class AH) visas.