Roh (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a delegate of the Minister's decision to refuse to grant the applicant, a citizen of South Korea, a Visitor (Class FA) visa. The applicant had applied for the visa while in Australia. The delegate's refusal was based on the applicant failing to satisfy Regulation 2.03AA of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) in relation to Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4001. The applicant subsequently applied to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of this decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied Regulation 2.03AA, which requires a person to provide a statement from an appropriate authority in a country where they have resided, evidencing whether they have a criminal history, unless the Minister is satisfied it is unreasonable to provide such a statement. The Tribunal also considered whether it had properly invited the applicant to a hearing and to comment on information that might lead to the affirmation of the delegate's decision.

The Tribunal found that the delegate had requested an Australian National Police Check from the applicant under s 56 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The applicant did not provide this document to the delegate, nor did he provide a Form 1023 indicating his total stay in Australia would not exceed 12 months. The Tribunal also invited the applicant to a hearing and to comment on information relevant to the decision under review, but the applicant failed to respond to these invitations. The Tribunal concluded that, as the applicant had not provided the requested Australian National Police Check and had not demonstrated that it was unreasonable to do so, he failed to satisfy Regulation 2.03AA.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse to grant the Visitor (Class FA) visa.