Shen and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application for Australian citizenship by conferral by Mr Shen, who disputed the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection's contention that he was not a permanent resident at the time of his application or for the preceding 12 months, and that he had been present in Australia as an unlawful non-citizen for the four years prior to his application. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Shen met the residency requirements for citizenship by conferral.

The central legal issue was whether Mr Shen's permanent residency status, evidenced by his subclass BF154 visa, was effectively re-enlivened after the cancellation of his Australian citizenship by conferral on 10 September 2014. The Tribunal considered the evidence of Mr Shen's travel history and the Department's administrative actions, which had led to confusion regarding his residency and citizenship status over a significant period.

The Tribunal found that while there had been considerable confusion and administrative error by the Department, which had delayed action on Mr Shen's citizenship status for 13 years, there was no evidence that his permanent residency status had been re-enlivened after his citizenship by conferral was cancelled. The Tribunal concluded that the information provided to Mr Shen by the Department on 22 July 2014, stating he was lawfully holding a subclass BF154 permanent visa, was incorrect and resulted from an administrative error. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that Mr Shen did not meet the requirements for the conferral of Australian citizenship at the date of his application. The decision under review was affirmed.