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

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for citizenship by descent made by the applicant, Thompson, against a decision of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs. The core of the dispute concerned whether the applicant met the criteria for citizenship by descent, specifically relating to the citizenship status of a parent at the time of the applicant's birth and the parent's presence in Australia.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant was eligible for citizenship by descent. This involved assessing whether the applicant's parent was an Australian citizen at the time of the applicant's birth and whether that parent had been present in Australia for at least two years prior to the applicant's application for citizenship. The Tribunal also considered the possibility of the applicant qualifying for citizenship by conferral, noting the legislative requirements for such an application, including the need for the applicant to be a permanent resident.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review. It found that the applicant could not claim citizenship by birth or by descent. While acknowledging that there is no prohibition on making repeated applications for citizenship, the Tribunal noted that a key legislative requirement for citizenship by conferral, particularly for applicants under 18 years of age, is permanent residency, a criterion that was not explicitly stated as met by the applicant in the provided text.