Reza Beygi and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) - [2021] AATA 3080

Reza Beygi and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2021] AATA 3080 (30 August 2021)
Division:GENERAL DIVISION
File Number: 2019/3798
Re:Mohammad Nabi Reza Beygi
APPLICANT

AndMinister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

RESPONDENT

DECISION
Tribunal:Senior Member C. J. Furnell
Date:30 August 2021
Place:Melbourne

The decision the subject of review is affirmed.
..................[SGD]......................................................
Senior Member
Catchwords
CITIZENSHIP – application for citizenship by conferral – refusal of citizenship – whether Minister can be satisfied of Applicant’s identity under s 24 of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth) – where Applicant claims to be stateless Faili Kurd – application of Australian Citizenship Policy Statement – biometrics – documents – life story – decision affirmed
Legislation
Administrative Appeals Act 1975 (Cth)
Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth)
Australian Citizenship Bill 2005 (Cth)
Migration Act 1958 (Cth)
Cases
Ater and Minister for Home Affairs (Citizenship) [2019] AATA 4677
Ahmadi and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship) [2019] AATA 1567
Al Khalaf and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2020] AATA 1716
Al Salim and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2020] AATA 65
BOY19 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2019] FCA 574
Briginshaw v Briginshaw (1938) 60 CLR 336
CDNB and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship) [2018] AATA 757
Chalou and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2021] AATA 1514
Confidential and Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2013] AATA 144
Dhayakpa and Minister for Immigration & Border Protection [2015] AATA 310
Drake and Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (No 2) (1979) 2 ALD 634
Elias v Commissioner of Taxation (2002) 123 FCR 499
Frugtniet v Australian Securities and Investments Commission (2019) 266 CLR 250
Gjura and Minister for Home Affairs (Citizenship) [2018] AATA 4222
Kahzadi and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2021] AATA 1137
Leong and Minister for Home Affairs (Citizenship) [2019] AATA 3641
Machar and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2021] AATA 1615
Mahamud and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2021] AATA 1635
MDQK and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2020] AATA 2576
Minister for Immigration and Border Protection v Makasa [2021] HCA 1
Sakhi Zada and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2020] AATA 1729
Shafari and Minister for Home Affairs (Citizenship) [2019] AATA 808
Shi v Migration Agents Registration Authority (2008) 235 CLR 286
Sinnathamby and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2018] AATA 2579
Secondary Materials
Australian Citizenship [Policy Statement]
National Identity Proofing Guidelines (2016)
Citizenship Procedural Instruction 16 – Assessing Identity under the Citizenship Act
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Country Advice – Iran – IRN38026 – registration cards (green, white, blue, yellow) – registration of refugees – Iraqi – Afghan (11 January 2011)
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT Country Information Report: Iran (29 November 2013)
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT Country Information Report: Iran (7 June 2018)
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT Thematic Report: Faili Kurds in Iraq and Iran (3 December 2014)
Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Country of Origin Information Section, Iran: IRN16184 – Faili Kurds – Iranian Citizenship – Shenasnameh – Education (Extended Q&A report, 14 August 2014)
Explanatory Memorandum, Australian Citizenship Bill 2005 (Cth)
REASONS FOR DECISION
Senior Member C. J. Furnell
30 August 2021

The Applicant, Mr Reza Beygi, has applied for Australian citizenship by conferral.[1]
[1] T3, with “T” being a reference to documents provided by the Respondent under s 37 of the Tribunal’s constituent legislation (Administrative Appeals Act 1975) and “ST” being a reference to supplementary documents so provided.
Under the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (the Act) (s 24(1)), when a person makes such an application, the Respondent becomes obliged to approve or to refuse to approve the application. That decision must, however, be to refuse to approve unless the Respondent is satisfied of the identity of the applicant (s 24(3)).
On 21 June 2019, a delegate of the Respondent decided to refuse to approve Mr Reza Beygi’s application because the delegate was not satisfied of his identity.[2]
[2] T2.
On 24 June 2019, Mr Reza Beygi applied to the Tribunal for review of that decision.[3]
[3] T1.
In conducting that review, the Tribunal stands in the shoes of the Respondent in order to “do over again” that which was done by the Respondent’s delegate.[4]
[4] Minister for Immigration and Border Protection v Makasa [2021] HCA 1 at [50], quoting with evident approval two earlier decisions, Frugtniet v Australian Securities and Investments Commission (2019) 266 CLR 250 at 271 [51] and Shi v Migration Agents Registration Authority (2008) 235 CLR 286 at 315 [40]-[100].
Standing in those shoes in this proceeding, the Tribunal needs to decide whether it is satisfied of Mr Reza Beygi’s identity.
On the material before me, I am not so satisfied.
Before outlining my reasons for being not so satisfied, I should say something about the regulatory and policy context.
REGULATORY AND POLICY CONTEXT
As already mentioned, an application for citizenship must be refused absent satisfaction as to the Applicant’s identity. Hence (and as stated in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Australian Citizenship Bill 2005), where an applicant’s identity is unclear, his or her application must be refused.
The requirement for clarity is reinforced when regard is had to the significance of the context. While the Tribunal’s task in this proceeding is evaluative[5] and it may be that principles of relevance to the application of rules of evidence have no role to play in it,[6] I nevertheless adopt Senior Member Morris’ comments in Sinnathamby[7] that:
“[e]ssentially … the Tribunal, standing in the shoes of the Minister, must be persuaded to a degree of reasonable satisfaction that something is so, and the degree of satisfaction may vary according to the consequences that flow. In this case, the Parliament has decided that being reasonably satisfied of a potential citizen’s identity is essential, because flowing from that is a range of significant rights, responsibilities and privileges.”
[5] Mahamud and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2021] AATA 1635 at [52] where it is said that the “…process of a decision-maker being satisfied of identity is an evaluative one, and is not ‘amenable to the application of an evidentiary burden of proof, such as the balance of probabilities’.”
[6] See BOY19 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2019] FCA 574 at [66], where it was said to be correct to conclude that the principle derived from Briginshaw v Briginshaw (1938) 60 CLR 336 (a principle to the effect that the degree of satisfaction for which the civil standard of proof calls may vary according to the gravity of the fact to be proved) did not apply in the context of a Tribunal determination as to whether it was satisfied of a particular matter.
[7] Sinnathamby and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2018] AATA 2579 at [56]. See also Machar and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2021] AATA 1615 at [25].
The Act does not define what constitutes a person’s identity. The ordinary, grammatical, meaning of “identity”, however, extends to the “condition, character, or distinguishing features of a person”,[8] the individual characteristics of a person by which the person is recognised[9] or the set of characteristics of a person which distinguishes the person from others.[10]
[8] Macquarie Dictionary (online, 2021). Found at: align="left">[9] Collins Dictionary (online, 2021). Found at align="left">[10] Oxford English Dictionary (online, 2021). Found at: >
The meaning so given to the concept of “identity” is reflected in relevant government policy. In this regard, while I am not bound by government policy,[11] where relevant and in the absence of cogent reasons to the contrary, I propose to take it into account and intend to apply it.[12]
[11] Elias v Commissioner of Taxation (2002) 123 FCR 499 at 506–7 per Hely J. See also Leong and Minister for Home Affairs (Citizenship) [2019] AATA 3641 at [34]-[42].
[12] Drake and Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (No 2) (1979) 2 ALD 634 at [645] per Brennan J; Al Salim and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2020] AATA 65 at [25].
On 27 November 2020, the document then outlining government policy with respect to citizenship (entitled Australian Citizenship Policy) was replaced by a policy statement (entitled Australian Citizenship [Policy Statement]). The Policy Statement, among other things, purports to outline overarching legislative requirements for the process of becoming an Australian citizen and for personal identifiers of persons applying for Australian citizenship.
The fact that the Policy Statement did not apply when the decision the subject of review was made does not mean that I cannot take it into account. In making my decision, I am not limited to material before the original decision-maker, such as material concerning the government policy then in place. To the contrary, it is on the basis of material before me that I must make my decision.[13]
[13] Frugtniet v Australian Securities and Investments Commission (2019) 266 CLR 250 at 256–7 [14], albeit in accordance with the law as it applied to the original decision-maker when the original decision was made.
In any event and, as the Respondent implicitly submitted,[14] taking the Policy Statement into account as opposed to the Australian Citizenship Policy makes no material difference in this proceeding. The particular relevance of the Policy Statement in this matter lies in its express reference to Citizenship Procedural Instruction 16 – Assessing Identity under the Citizenship Act (“CPI 16”). CPI 16 formed part of the relevant policy framework in place at the time of the decision the subject of review.
[14] Respondent’s Submissions on new policy statement of 20 January 2021.
CPI 16 elaborates on the concept of identity. It is said not to be a point in time concept but is, rather, one that needs to be considered historically and verified incrementally throughout a person’s life. Consistently with the dictionary definitions mentioned earlier, it is said in guidelines referred to in CPI 16 (and with which CPI 16 is said to align)[15] that a “…person’s identity is not a fixed concept; it is highly dependent on context. It is some combination of characteristics or attributes that allow a person to be uniquely distinguished from others within a specific context.”[16]
[15] National Identity Proofing Guidelines 2014 (“Guidelines”). See CPI 16 [2.1].
[16] Guidelines [2.1.1].
Paraphrasing what has been just said, a person’s identity comprises a set of his or her characteristics or attributes over time, characteristics that enable the person to be distinguished from others.
CPI 16 offers guidance as to how a decision-maker can come to a state of satisfaction as to a person’s identity. It is said that regard ought to be had to information provided or obtained pursuant to what are characterised as the three pillars of identity. The objective of doing so is to determine whether information so provided or obtained is consistent.[17] In this regard:
“[t]he three pillars of identity require an applicant to demonstrate that personal identifiers, personal information and life story are consistent and uniquely attributable to the applicant… In that context, to be satisfied if an individual’s identity is to be satisfied that the individual’s characteristics and life story are internally consistent and uniquely applicable to the individual at all times and in all circumstances.”[18]
Where inconsistency is revealed there ought to be a clear and consistent explanation for it.[19]
[17] CPI 16 [4.12].
[18] MDQK and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2020] AATA 2576 at [75].
[19] Al Khalaf and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2020] AATA 1716 at [39].
Those three pillars of identity[20] are:
(a)Biometrics. These are expressed to involve personal identifiers, which include fingerprints, facial images, or a person’s signature.[21]
(b)Documents. The relevance of documents is said in CPI 16 to derive from the fact that they may contain biodata, or personal information, such as name, date of birth, nationality, and/or citizenship, and may also contain biometric information. While documents are said not to establish identity of themselves, they contribute to a person’s identity timeline by providing an anchor to corroborate pillar one (biometrics) and pillar three (life story) information. It is said that, when assessing pillar two, decision-makers should consider and assess whether the documents and information they contain are consistent and whether they support or refute a person’s claimed identity. The crucial element of a document, whether genuine or not, is the story the document tells.[22]
(c)Life story. This “pillar” is described as a narrative of the events that happened to the relevant person from birth.[23] A person’s life story may include details of (amongst other things) family composition, education, employment, countries of residence, countries visited, social footprint and online presence.[24]
[20] CPI 16 [4.4].
[21] CPI 16 [4.13]: it is said that the term biometrics refers to the recorded measurement of a person’s unique, physical, identifiable attributes used for identification and authentication and to anchor an individual to a claimed identity.
[22] CPI 16 [4.14].
[23] CPI 16 [4.15].
[24] CPI 16 [4.4].
As I see it, there is insufficient consistency in the information provided or obtained in relation to these three pillars of identity for me to be satisfied of Mr Reza Beygi’s identity.
Biometrics
In terms of biometrics, I refer to a photograph of Mr Reza Beygi in an Iranian driver’s licence issued to him on 28 July 2008.[25] That photograph is not dissimilar from those in documentation issued by the Victorian government in Mr Reza Beygi’s name (such as a Victorian Heavy Vehicle Driver licence[26]) and, as such, is consistent with the claim that he is who he says he is.
[25] T6, pp. 59-61.
[26] T6, p.55.
Documents
While it may be that “no law requires that identity can only be established by the production of documents appropriate to an established or undisturbed society,”[27] the requirement for clarity as to a person’s identity can make it difficult for citizenship applicants, especially those who come from a society where “the issuing of official documentation may be hampered by conflict, civil strife, and/or under-developed bureaucratic and administrative structures.”[28]
[27] Shafari and Minister for Home Affairs (Citizenship) [2019] AATA 808 at [16] citing Dhayakpa and Minister for Immigration & Border Protection [2015] AATA 310 at [117].
[28] Ater and Minister for Home Affairs (Citizenship) [2019] AATA 4677 at [64].
Here, the Applicant is not claiming he came from such a society but, nevertheless, he has not produced officially issued documentation strongly corroborative of his claimed identity (such as an officially issued birth certificate).
While, as mentioned, the failure to produce such documentation is not of itself fatal to a citizenship application,[29] “there will need to be a cogent and acceptable explanation…”[30] for the failure.
[29] CDNB and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship) [2018] AATA 757.
[30] Ibid at [9].
Moreover, a citizenship application ought to be rejected “…where an applicant has failed to avail himself of opportunities to secure evidence of identity which might reasonably be expected to exist and which he has been advised to secure.”[31]
[31] Dhayakpa and Minister for Immigration & Border Protection [2015] AATA 310 at [117] citing Confidential and Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2013] AATA 144 at [34].
Here, the Respondent submits, in effect, that there has been no cogent and acceptable explanation for Mr Reza Beygi’s failure to produce certain documentation, documentation which the Respondent contends might reasonably be expected to exist. As will soon become apparent, I accept that submission insofar as it relates to the failure of Mr Reza Beygi to produce what is known as a green card.
Before outlining my reasons for doing so, however, I should first outline the documents which Mr Reza Beygi has produced.
Prior to the hearing of this matter, Mr Reza Beygi produced:
(a)an original Driver licence issued in Iran in July 2008, together with an official certified translation thereof;
(b)a Titre De Voyage issued in Australia on 20 April 2012;
(c)a Victorian Heavy Vehicle Driver licence;
(d)a copy of a Medicare card;
(e)a Victorian proof of age card; and
(f)a Victorian private security individual licence.
All the Victorian documents are secondary, in the sense that they all appear to have been obtained in reliance on other documents.[32] In terms of establishing Mr Reza Beygi’s identity, I do not attribute much weight to them. Their probative value (in terms of establishing identity) very much turns on the probative value (in terms of identity) of the document on which reliance was placed in procuring their issue.[33] At least in the case of the Victorian driver licence, reliance was placed on Mr Reza Beygi’s Iranian driver licence. Speaking generally, documents issued to an applicant by Australian authorities are of little value as they “are simply evidence of who the Applicant says he is, not of who he is.”[34]
[32] For instance, the Victorian driver licence was obtained in reliance on the Iranian licence – see the Applicant’s statement of 17 March 2020.
[33] Shafari and Minister for Home Affairs (Citizenship) [2019] AATA 808 at [41], where reference was made to Australian documents being procured based on secondary documents,
[34] Chalou and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2021] AATA 1514 [52].
As for the Titre de Voyage, while it lends some support to Mr Reza Beygi’s identity claim, that support is not significant. This is because the issuance of such a document occurs in a context that differs from citizenship. In the latter context, the bar set by the steps necessary to establish identity may well be higher than that set in other contexts, such as under the Migration Act 1958.[35]
[35] Ibid at [55].
As for the Iranian driver licence, the Respondent submitted that its existence undermines Mr Reza Beygi’s credibility. According to the Respondent, Mr Reza Beygi had “previously claimed to have no identity documents and provided the licence only after further information was requested by the department.”[36]
[36] Respondent’s Statement of Facts, Issues and Contentions of 20 December 2019 at [21].

The Respondent relied on:
(a)statements made by Mr Reza Beygi that he did not have, and never had, any national identity documents.[37] A driver licence might well have been understood by Mr Reza Beygi to not be a “national identity document.”
(b)a letter Mr Reza Beygi sent on 16 May 2016, in which he stated that he “never have had any kind of identification…”[38] Unfortunately, the Respondent omitted from the quote the balance of the sentence from which it was extracted, in which Mr Reza Beygi characterises the type of identification to which he was referring as “like birth certificate, Iranian passport, national card etc.”
(c)a statement made by Mr Reza Beygi on 3 November 2010 that he had no identity documents.[39] This statement is not inconsistent with him now having an Iranian driver licence. Mr Reza Beygi says that, at the time the statement was made, his licence had been left behind in Iran and that he only retrieved it in mid-2012.
(d)a statement made by Mr Reza Beygi on 9 January 2011. However, in that statement he only said he had no birth certificate or “white” card[40] (being an amayesh or refugee registration card[41]).
[37] T5, p.35; T3, p.20.
[38] T6, p. 52.
[39] ST4, p. 38.
[40] ST3, pp. 28-9.
[41] Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT Thematic Report: Faili Kurds in Iraq and Iran (3 December 2014) [3.36].
I share, however, the Respondent’s concern as to the timing of production of the Iranian licence. In 2016[42] and in 2017,[43] Mr Reza Beygi denied having any national identity documents while still holding his Iranian driver licence.[44] While, as mentioned, Mr Reza Beygi might well have understood that his licence was not a “national identity document,” his failure to produce the licence until responding to a 2017 request for further information is, in context, troubling given his obvious recognition of the utility of the licence as a means of identification, noting his use of it to obtain a Victorian driver licence.
[42] T3, p.20.
[43] T5, p.35.
[44] The licence was obtained by the Applicant from his mother in mid-2012: Applicant’s statement of 17 March 2020.
Moreover, there are what I perceive to be inconsistencies concerning Mr Reza Beygi’s recollection as to how he came to acquire the Iranian licence without official identity documents.
On his behalf, it is said that he obtained the licence without providing any identity documents by bribing the licencing authority through an agent.[45] He has also stated, however, (and it has been said on his behalf[46]) that Iranian authorities offered him the licence subject to him passing a relatively arduous driving test and paying about four times the normal amount for it[47] (with the higher amount being payable not as a bribe but because he was a foreigner[48]).
[45] Applicant’s Statement of Issues, Facts and Contentions of 8 November 2019. See also Mr Reza Beygi’s undated statutory declaration at T11, p.138.
[46] Report of 14 January 2020 of Dr Maryam Delavari.
[47] Applicant’s statement of 17 March 2020.
[48] Report of 14 January 2020 of Dr Maryam Delavari.
I note that the licence was issued in July 2008. If it was obtained legitimately, in order to be consistent with Mr Reza Beygi’s claims as to statelessness, it must have been just prior to the introduction in mid-2008 of a requirement to produce a national identity document before obtaining, amongst other things, a driver licence.[49] If the licence was obtained illegitimately, it would be of no probative value in establishing identity as the process by which his identity would have been assured had been subverted.[50]
[49] Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT Thematic Report: Faili Kurds in Iraq and Iran (3 December 2014) [3.47].
[50] Sakhi Zada and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2020] AATA 1729 at [47].
The foregoing documents are not the only ones submitted by Mr Reza Beygi as evidence of his identity. On the first day of the hearing of this matter, he produced:
(a)a colour photocopy of a “Bank Mellat” access card purportedly in the name of Mr Reza Beygi’s mother, with stamps of certification, together with a certified translation of the bank card;
(b)a colour photocopy purportedly of the mother’s birth certificate with certification stamps, together with a certified translation of the birth certificate;
(c)a colour photocopy of a passport purportedly belonging to the mother;
(d)an original copy of Mr Reza Beygi’s childhood vaccination card, together with two photocopies of the card and a certified translation of the card; and
(e)a photocopy of an “attendance card” at a paediatric clinic, together with a certified translation of it.
The Respondent accepted that “the identity documents purportedly from the applicant’s mother and the applicant’s vaccine cards have the characteristics of genuine documents and are typical for their period of issue.”[51] Despite this, the Respondent submitted that these additional documents are of little probative value. I do not accept that submission.
[51] Respondent’s Further Submissions of 17 July 2020 [4].
As for the documents purportedly in the name of Mr Reza Beygi’s mother, the Respondent’s complaint is that they do not relate to Mr Reza Beygi and do not establish that Mr Reza Beygi is the relevant person’s son. It is said that “[a]bsent any verification of this relationship (apart from the applicant’s bare assertions that this person is his mother) the Minster [sic] submits that little weight should be given to these documents.” It would, according to the Respondent, have been a straightforward process to obtain documents establishing who Mr Reza Beygi’s mother is (such as a birth certificate). I disagree.
First, the fact of a relationship between Mr Reza Beygi and the person purportedly his mother is supported by more than bare assertion. There have been multiple transfers of funds by Mr Reza Beygi to the person named as his mother in the relevant documents, Gharmanaz Khatar (or Qharmanaz Khatar). In particular, reports from AUSTRAC reveal that Mr Reza Beygi has effected many such transfers since at least 2014, a number of which were expressed to be by way of “family support”.[52] Moreover, a person named Qamar Naz Khatar has been consistently reported by Mr Reza Beygi to be his mother since his initial interview in November 2010 shortly after arriving in Australia as an unauthorised maritime arrival.[53]
[52] See, for example. T7, pp.62, 94, 96, 104.
[53] ST4.
Second, the contention that it would have been a straightforward process to obtain documents establishing Mr Reza Beygi’s relationship with the person purportedly his mother reflects other submissions made in this matter by the Respondent to the effect that Mr Reza Beygi should have been able to provide official Iranian identity documents.[54] In essence, the Respondent contends that the Applicant’s explanation for his lack of official Iranian identity documents is implausible.
[54] It was said to be implausible that Mr Reza Beygi did not have a birth certificate due to an Iranian requirement that all births be registered; that he did not have a white card which had, it was said, been issued to all refugees in Iran since 2002; and that he did not have a valid passport when he departed from Iran via Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran: Respondent’s Statement of Facts Issues and Contentions of 20 December 2019 [8].
Speaking generally, it is not, as the Respondent would have it, inherently implausible for a person such as Mr Reza Beygi to have lived in Iran for some time without official, national identification documentation.
While I will address Mr Reza Beygi’s life story more fully later, for present purposes I simply note that he says he is a stateless Kurd or Faili Kurd. He says he was born in Iran to an Iranian citizen mother[55] and a stateless Kurdish father who had been expelled from Iraq and who came to settle in Ilam, Iran as a refugee.[56]
[55] T5, p.45; T2, p.23.
[56] Applicant’s statement of 17 March 2020.
As recognised by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (“DFAT”) in an April 2020 report, one of the three main groups of Faili Kurds living in Iran consisted of Kurds of Iraqi origin who are not registered as refugees.[57]
[57] Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT Country Information Report: Iran (14 April 2020) [3.23].
Mr Reza Beygi says he was never issued a National Identity Card or shenasnameh because, despite its being compulsory to do so, his birth was never registered. He said this is because his father was stateless.[58] As his father was not an Iranian citizen, neither he nor his sister could get “an official birth certificate, shenasnameh.”[59]
[58] Applicant’s Statement of Issues Facts and Contentions of 8 November 2019.
[59] Applicant’s statement of 17 March 2020.
Mr Reza Beygi’s explanation for him not having a birth certificate accords with the Tribunal’s understanding of the prerequisites to the issue of a birth certificate in Iran. In particular, an “… official marriage certificate—not a religious document—and Iranian citizenship are required to register the birth of a child and receive an Iranian birth certificate.”[60]
[60] Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT Thematic Report: Faili Kurds in Iraq and Iran (3 December 2014) [3.41].
Another form of official Iranian identity card potentially available to Mr Reza Beygi was a “white card” (or amayesh) issued to refugees arriving in Iran, principally in the 1980s.[61] Mr Reza Beygi states that he was never issued such a card. He says that, in 2003, his father was offered one for himself and for each of Mr Reza Beygi and his sister. The father is said to have refused the offer on the basis that “it could be used as identification to move them out from Iran.”[62]
[61] Kahzadi and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2021] AATA 1137 at [33].
[62] Applicant’s statement of 17 March 2020.
At the hearing of this matter, in cross-examination, Mr Reza Beygi stated that he had held a green refugee card (green cards being the forerunner of white cards and which were replaced by white cards in around 2002[63]). He had, however, returned his green card to Iranian authorities (which I infer occurred at around the time Mr Reza Beygi’s father was offered a white card). According to Mr Reza Beygi, when returning the green card, his father would not let him take up the offer of a white card.
[63] Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT Thematic Report: Faili Kurds in Iraq and Iran (3 December 2014) [3.37].
While the father’s attitude might well explain why Mr Reza Beygi did not acquire a white card,[64] it offers no adequate explanation for Mr Reza Beygi having, in effect, stated, on several occasions, that he never had any official Iranian identity documents (statements to which I referred earlier). Mr Reza Beygi suggested that certain of these statements reflect translator error. I do not accept this, noting, for instance, the disparate nature of the documents in which the statements were made.[65] He also suggested that he understood the reference to identity documents as being a reference to documents which disclosed a person’s nationality or citizenship. While this offers some explanation for the statements made by Mr Reza Beygi, it does not explain why the documentary material provided on his behalf (including his submissions) make no reference to him having held a green card while at the same time referring to the fact that his father had held such a card.
[64] Noting that it might be the case that the offer of a white card to a child of a Kurdish refugee from Iraq is conditional on the parent holding such a card: see Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT Thematic Report: Faili Kurds in Iraq and Iran (3 December 2014) where, at [3.39], it is said that “In almost all cases Iranian authorities will issue an amayesh card to a child born to an Iraqi refugee father who has a valid amayesh card.”
[65] T3, p.20. Cf T6.
Nevertheless, if, as Mr Reza Beygi contends, he did not accept the offer to substitute his green card for a white card, it is unlikely that he would thereafter have been able to obtain a white card. White cards could be exchanged for green cards but then had to be renewed annually. If a white card was not renewed prior to its annual expiry, it could not be replaced.[66] This suggests that any offer to Mr Reza Beygi to exchange his green card for a white card would have been a once only, take it or leave it, opportunity and, hence, affords an explanation for Mr Reza Beygi’s failure as an adult to obtain a white card.
[66] See Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Country Advice – Iran – IRN38026 – registration cards (green, white, blue, yellow) – registration of refugees – Iraqi – Afghan (11 January 2011) p.7.
What the foregoing does not explain, however, is why Mr Reza Beygi returned his green card to the Iranian authorities if he was not seeking to exchange it for a white card. Absent that explanation, Mr Reza Beygi’s green card is a document that might reasonably be expected to exist, one in respect of which there has been no cogent and acceptable explanation for the failure to produce it.
I turn now to the specifics of certain of the additional documents provided by Mr Reza Beygi.
The birth certificate provided by Mr Reza Beygi does not include certain information that might ordinarily be expected to have been included if, as Mr Reza Beygi contends, it is his mother’s. In particular, such a certificate (apparently known in Iran as a shenasnameh) should ordinarily record not only the holder’s birth but also, amongst other things, details of marriages and the birth of any children.[67] In this case, the document provided records neither Mr Reza Beygi’s birth nor any marriage to Mr Reza Beygi’s father.
[67] Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT Thematic Report: Faili Kurds in Iraq and Iran (3 December 2014) [3.46].
The absence of that information from the mother’s birth certificate is, however, explicable in the circumstances. In a statutory declaration made by Mr Reza Beygi in January 2011, shortly after his arrival in Australia, he stated that his parents could not register their marriage with the Iranian government.[68] This was said to be because his father lacked identification.[69] Similarly, according to Mr Reza Beygi, his parents were unable to register his birth with the government, despite many attempts to do so.[70]
[68] ST3, p.28.
[69] See Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Country of Origin Information Section, Iran: IRN16184 – Faili Kurds – Iranian Citizenship – Shenasnameh – Education (Extended Q&A report, 14 August 2014) which, at 5, cites a report to the effect that an unregistered refugee would be unable to obtain registration of a marriage.
[70] ST3, p.29.
In this regard, I note in passing that the non-registration of Mr Reza Beygi’s parents’ marriage would likely preclude, at a practical level, Mr Reza Beygi from obtaining Iranian citizenship by virtue of his mother’s Iranian citizenship, despite a 2006 Iranian constitutional amendment permitting applications for citizenship to be made by children of Iranian mothers and foreign fathers.[71]
[71] Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT Thematic Report: Faili Kurds in Iraq and Iran (3 December 2014) [3.26]-[3.27].
As for Mr Reza Beygi’s childhood vaccination card and attendance card at a paediatric clinic, I note that his receipt of medical services in Iran when a child would have been inconsistent with reports to the effect that undocumented children were at the relevant time “…prevented from accessing education and health benefits until the passage of an additional law in May 2012”[72], absent his evidence at the hearing of this proceeding that he did, for a time, have a green card.
[72] Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Country of Origin Information Section, Iran: IRN16184 – Faili Kurds – Iranian Citizenship – Shenasnameh – Education (Extended Q&A report, 14 August 2014) p.3.
Overall, inconsistencies in the story told by the documents Mr Reza Beygi has been able to make available are such that I am not satisfied of his identity.[73] I have concerns, in particular, in relation to:
(a)the genuineness of the Iranian driver licence, given the timing of its production to Australian authorities and inconsistencies in the material before me as to the circumstances of its issue;
(b)details contained in the Iranian driver licence and Mr Reza Beygi’s response when seeking to reconcile those details with statements made by him or on his behalf (which I will elaborate on when discussing his life story);
(c)the disclosure only at the hearing of this proceeding of the fact that Mr Reza Beygi had held a green card (a disclosure made in the face of several statements made by him that he had never held any official Iranian identity documents), the failure to produce that card and the provision of what I consider to be an inadequate explanation for that failure; and
(d)the statements made by Mr Reza Beygi as to the nature of the passport he used to leave Iran (which I will elaborate on when discussing his life story).
[73] CPI 16 [4.14] “The crucial element of a document, whether genuine or not, is the story the document tells.”
Life Story
I turn now to the third pillar of identity, Mr Reza Beygi’s life story.
The idea of the life story pillar is to try and create an identity picture from birth. As recognised in CPI 16,[74] it is a pillar which can take on particular significance when, as here, a citizenship applicant claims to be stateless.
[74] CPI 16 [4.15].
The Respondent submits that there are a number of inconsistencies in Mr Reza Beygi’s life story. As will soon become apparent, I agree. Some of the inconsistencies are explicable and others are relatively insignificant and might well be attributable to natural memory lapses over time. There remains, however, inconsistencies of significance.
In recounting aspects of Mr Reza Beygi’s life story (as described by or on behalf of Mr Reza Beygi), I will first start with members of his immediate family, in particular, his father and mother.
Mr Reza Beygi’s father is Ali Heidar Reza Beygi.[75] He was born in Baghdad, Iraq and is of Kurdish ethnicity.[76] He was expelled from Iraq,[77] travelling to Iran as a refugee and receiving a “green card.” He settled in Ilam and was married in 1983.[78]
[75] See, for example, T3, p.22; ST4, p.40.
[76] T3, p.22; ST3, p.28.
[77] The claim that Mr Reza Beygi’s father was expelled from Iraq along with others of Kurdish ethnicity is consistent with Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT Thematic Report: Faili Kurds in Iraq and Iran (3 December 2014) at [2.3].
[78] Applicant’s statement of 17 March 2020.
I note that some corroboration for Ali Heidar Reza Beygi being Mr Reza Beygi’s father is found in Mr Reza Beygi’s paediatric clinic “attendance card” and his vaccination card, both of which identify as Mr Reza Beygi’s father a person whose name is “Ali Haydar”.
There are some inconsistencies (albeit, of themselves, apparently minor) in the information provided by Mr Reza Beygi concerning his father. Mr Reza Beygi has claimed that his father:
(a)was born in both March 1962 (or simply 1962)[79] and 1961;[80]
(b)was married when he was 19, in 1983 (which would make 1964 his year of birth);[81]
(c)was expelled from Iraq in 1980[82] and after June 1982. No express reference is made to the latter date for expulsion but it is clearly inferred that Mr Reza Beygi’s father was expelled from Iraq after Iran had, by June 1982, regained almost all the territory it had lost in its war with Iraq;[83] and
(d)received his green card from the United Nations[84] but also from the Iranian government.[85]
[79] T3, p.22; Applicant’s statement of 17 March 2020.
[80] T5, p.45; ST3, p.26; ST4, p.40.
[81] Applicant’s statement of 17 March 2020; report of 14 January 2020 of Dr Delavari.
[82] ST3, p.28 (Applicant’s statutory declaration of 9 January 2011).
[83] Applicant’s statement of 17 March 2020. See also report of 14 January 2020 of Dr Delavari.
[84] Applicant’s statement of 17 March 2020.
[85] ST3, p.28.

Mr Reza Beygi’s mother is Qamar Naz Khatar, a citizen of Iran.[86] The Respondent characterised Mr Reza Beygi’s evidence that his mother is an Iranian citizen as an admission made in direct contradiction to his initial submissions to the department.[87] This is not the case. In a statutory declaration made by Mr Reza Beygi shortly after his arrival in Australia, he clearly stated that his mother was an Iranian citizen.[88]
[86] See, for example, T3, p.23; ST3, pp. 26, 28.
[87] Respondent’s Further Submissions of 17 July 2021 [11].
[88] ST3, p.28.
Nevertheless, there is, of itself, an apparently minor inconsistency in the information provided by Mr Reza Beygi concerning his mother’s date of birth. Mr Reza Beygi has claimed that his mother was born in October 1966,[89] in 1969,[90] in 1967 or in approximately 1967.[91] In her passport, the date of her birth is expressed to be in 1964.
[89] T3, p.23.
[90] T5, p.45.
[91] ST3, p.26; ST3, p.40.
I turn now to Mr Reza Beygi. He was born on 22 June 1985,[92] left Iran on 13 October 2010,[93] arrived in Australia on 21 October 2010[94] and was issued a protection visa on 22 March 2012.[95]
[92] T3, p.18.
[93] ST2, p.21.
[94] T6, p. 52; ST2, p.13.
[95] T3, p.20; T5, p.41.
The first set of inconsistencies in the information provided or obtained with respect to Mr Reza Beygi personally concerns his place of birth. In this regard:
(a)Mr Reza Beygi has said[96] (and it has been said on his behalf[97]) that he was born in a tent in the mountains in Iran where he lived for three years before moving to Ilam city.
(b)Mr Reza Beygi has also said he was born in Ilam city[98] and that he was born in a house.[99]
[96] Applicants statement of 17 March 2020; Applicant’s submission of 27 July 2020.
[97] Report of 14 January 2020 of Dr Delavari.
[98] ST3 p.28.
[99] T6, p.52.
At the hearing of this proceeding, Mr Reza Beygi clarified (to some extent) the position in this regard saying he was born in mountains close to Ilam city.
More significantly, in the certified translation of the Iranian driver licence that Mr Reza Beygi provided, it is said that he was born in Iraq and exiled to Iran.[100] The difficulty to which this inconsistency gives rise from Mr Reza Beygi’s perspective is compounded:
(a)by him asserting, on the one hand, that the certified translation of the licence is in error in recording his place of birth as Iraq and that the licence, instead, records his birth place as Ilam, Iran while, on the other hand, asserting that his place of birth is not recorded on the licence;[101] and
(b)by it being asserted on his behalf that there are statements made in the licence not reflected in the certified translation of it, to wit, “Kurdish stateless” and “This document is not credible as an Iranian identification for any legal purposes.”[102]
[100] T6, p.59.
[101] T11.
[102] Report of 14 January 2020 of Dr Maryam Delavari.
Second, there is an inconsistency in the information provided or obtained concerning when and where Mr Reza Beygi lived in Iran. In around March 2012, Mr Reza Beygi stated that he had resided in Ilam city in the period 1993 to 2010,[103] which begs the question of where he lived after his birth in 1985 or after leaving the mountains three years after his birth.
[103] ST3, p.27.
Mr Reza Beygi also appears to have been inexplicably coy about providing precise details as to where he lived in Ilam city. In an interview conducted shortly after Mr Reza Beygi arrived in Australia and less than a month after he had left Iran, Mr Reza Beygi stated that he could not remember the number of the house in Ilam city where he had apparently resided for around 20 years[104] and where his parents resided.[105]
[104] ST4, pp.36-7.
[105] ST4, p.40.
Third, there would appear to be an inconsistency between the extent of schooling Mr Reza Beygi claims he was able to undertake in Iran without documentation and the usual position in terms of schooling for undocumented refugees as described in DFAT country information. In particular, Mr Reza Beygi states that he undertook around 11 years of schooling[106] but was barred from receiving any high school certificate.[107] According to DFAT, however, “undocumented children usually miss out on available places, because Iranian citizens and documented refugees are prioritised”[108] so that “Failis without identification would not normally be able to access the formal education system.”[109]
[106] ST3, p.27; ST4, p.38.
[107] ST3, p.29.
[108] Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT Thematic Report: Faili Kurds in Iraq and Iran (3 December 2014) [3.57].
[109] Ibid [3.58].
This apparent inconsistency seems to be explicable, however. First, Mr Reza Beygi may well not have been undocumented at the time of his schooling, given his evidence at the hearing of this proceeding that he did, for a time, hold a green card. Second, DFAT’s contention as to the usual case concerning the availability of educational services to undocumented refugees might overstate the position. In this regard, I note that in a 2013 Country Report on Human Rights Practices for Iran, the US Department of State reported that undocumented refugee children in Iran may attend formal government schools but may not receive certification for their attendance. The relevant section of the report is said to have stated that:
“Women may not transmit citizenship to their children or to a noncitizen spouse. According to media reports, there were officially 30,000 citizens married to Afghan men, although the number was likely much higher. There were more than 32,000 children without refugee identification cards, making them effectively stateless and subject to inconsistent government policies. They may attend formal government schools but may not receive certification for their attendance.”[110]
[110] Cited in Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Country of Origin Information Section, Iran: IRN16184 – Faili Kurds – Iranian Citizenship – Shenasnameh – Education (Extended Q&A report, 14 August 2014) p.9.
Fourthly, there would appear to be an inconsistency between what Mr Reza Beygi describes with respect to his employment history while in Iran and what would appear from DFAT country information to be feasible from the perspective of an undocumented refugee resident in Iran. In particular, Mr Reza Beygi states that, in the 2008 to 2009 period, he was self-employed, renting a shop in Ilam selling kebabs and hamburgers.[111] In this regard, according to DFAT, normally “…identity documents would be required to buy a… mobile phone or establish a utilities account. A legally recognised lease would also require identification.”[112]
[111] ST3, p.26.
[112] Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT Thematic Report: Faili Kurds in Iraq and Iran (3 December 2014) [3.58].
As I see it, however, this inconsistency is explicable in Mr Reza Beygi’s circumstances. First, in terms of the need for identity documents to lease business premises, DFAT recognises the possibility of private arrangements that may be made without the need for documentation. Second, Mr Reza Beygi explained that, indeed, documentation was required and that was the reason he had to close his business:
“I was not able to register the business because I have no status In Iran. I was warned by the Health office and later by the Registration office that I needed to obtain registration certificates. I had to close the shop and I also had to pay a fine.”[113]
[113] ST3, p.29.
Fifth, there are several inconsistencies with respect to information obtained or provided in relation to Mr Reza Beygi’s departure from Iran.
Mr Reza Beygi departed from Iran in October 2010 from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport using a passport.[114]
[114] Applicant’s statement of 17 March 2020.
Mr Reza Beygi has claimed that the passport he used was a forgery.[115] It being a forgery would be consistent with statements he has made to the effect that he never held any Iranian official identity document such as a passport.[116] However, it being a forgery is both unlikely and inconsistent with other statements made by Mr Reza Beygi.
[115] ST3, p.21.
[116] T3, p.20; T5, p.35; T6, p.52.
The use of a forged passport in departing Iran from Tehran’s airport is unlikely because, according to a DFAT 2013 report, fleeing Iran “…is usually accomplished overland rather than through the main airports. Passport control checks are sophisticated in Iran.”[117] In a DFAT 2018 report, it is said that “Iranian identity documents include sophisticated security features and would be difficult to manufacture for fraudulent use.”[118] Hence, “…leaving Iran through irregular means is more likely to be achievable overland (particularly in rugged mountain areas) than via air or sea, including for registered and unregistered refugees.”[119] Apparently, “…exit from Imam Khomeini International Airport with a forged passport would be difficult, although not impossible if bribery were involved”.[120] Mr Reza Beygi does not suggest bribery was involved when he exited the airport.
[117] Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT Country Information Report: Iran (29 November 2013) [5.20].
[118] Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT Country Information Report: Iran (7 June 2018) [5.32].
[119] Ibid [5.22].
[120] See Kahzadi and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship) [2021] AATA 1137 at [87] citing a 2016 DFAT Country Report on Iran.
The use of a forged passport in departing Iran from Tehran’s airport is inconsistent with other statements made by Mr Reza Beygi. He has stated that he had a passport (which was said to have been confiscated by people smugglers),[121] that it had been sent through the post in Iran two weeks after he and an associate had gone to the passport department when a receipt had been issued (which, I infer, was in respect of funds paid)[122] and that the passport he used to leave Iran was genuine.[123]
[121] ST2, p.13.
[122] ST4, p.49.
[123] ST4, p.50.
If these statements are correct, the passport Mr Reza Beygi had held was genuine (albeit possibly procured through bribery). If he had held a genuine passport, that would:
(a)mean that other statements made by Mr Reza Beygi as to the passport being a forgery and him never having held a passport were inaccurate; and
(b)make it more likely that he had been issued with a national identity document given that, since mid-2008, such a document was required in order to obtain an Iranian passport.[124]
[124] Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT Thematic Report: Faili Kurds in Iraq and Iran (3 December 2014) [3.47].
I note that, at the hearing of this proceeding, Mr Reza Beygi’s evidence on the matter ended up being simply that he was unsure whether the passport was genuine.[125]
[125] Cf Gjura and Minister for Home Affairs (Citizenship) [2018] AATA 4222 at [75].
Overall, I am not satisfied that there is sufficient consistency in the details provided in relation to Mr Reza Beygi’s life story to be satisfied of his identity.
CONCLUSION
I am not satisfied of Mr Reza Beygi’s identity. While a number of inconsistencies in the information provided or obtained in relation to him are explicable in the circumstances, there remain several inconsistencies in relation to matters of significance.
The decision the subject of review is affirmed.

87. I certify that the preceding 86 (eighty-six) paragraphs are a true copy of the reasons for the decision herein of Senior Member C. J. Furnell

.....[SGD]........................................
Associate
Dated: 30 August 2021

Dates of hearing:

10 March 2020 and 16 November 2020

Applicant:

Self-represented

Advocate for the Respondent:

Christopher Orchard

Solicitors for the Respondent:

Sparke Helmore Lawyers

Dates of hearing:	10 March 2020 and 16 November 2020
Applicant:	Self-represented
Advocate for the Respondent:	Christopher Orchard
Solicitors for the Respondent:	Sparke Helmore Lawyers