Saifi and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for review of a delegate's decision to refuse the grant of Australian citizenship by conferral to the applicant. The applicant, born in Afghanistan in 1983, arrived in Australia in 2013 and applied for citizenship in 2017. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was asked to determine whether the applicant met the eligibility requirements for Australian citizenship under the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth).

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had satisfied the requirements of paragraphs 21(2)(d), (e), and (f) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007*. These paragraphs stipulate that an applicant must understand the nature of a citizenship application, possess basic English language knowledge, and have an adequate knowledge of Australia, its responsibilities, and privileges. Crucially, subsection 21(2A) of the Act states that these requirements are only met if the Minister is satisfied that the person has successfully completed a citizenship test.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had failed the citizenship test on eight occasions across three separate appointments. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not satisfied the requirements of subsection 21(2), specifically paragraphs (d), (e), and (f), at the time of the delegate's decision. Applying the principles established in *Khoshaba v Minister of Immigration and Border Protection* [2018] AATA 1829, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the grant of Australian citizenship.