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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviewed a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs to refuse Mr Hiwa Soroush's application for Australian citizenship by conferral. The refusal was based on the delegate's dissatisfaction with Mr Soroush's identity, which prohibited the approval of his application under section 24(3) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* (Cth). Mr Soroush, who arrived in Australia as a refugee, lacked primary or secondary identity documents predating his arrival in Australia, having been born and raised in Iran without official identification.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was satisfied as to Mr Soroush's identity, thereby determining if the prohibition under section 24(3) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007* applied. This required the Tribunal to consider the applicant's life story, the absence of pre-arrival identification documents, and any explanations provided for inconsistencies in his account.

The Tribunal reasoned that while Mr Soroush had no official identity documents from Iran, his case was supported by witness statements from individuals who knew him as a child in Iran. The veracity of the identity documents of these witnesses was not challenged by the Minister. The Tribunal found the two witnesses who gave oral evidence to be credible, despite some inconsistencies in their accounts when compared to Mr Soroush's evidence. The Tribunal accepted their testimony that they knew Mr Soroush, could attest to his childhood in Tehran, and were aware he lacked identification papers, which made life difficult for him. The Tribunal concluded that it was satisfied as to Mr Soroush's identity.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the Minister's decision and remitted the matter for reconsideration with a direction that approval of Mr Soroush's citizenship application was not prohibited under section 24(3) of the *Australian Citizenship Act 2007*.