Zafari (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for a Child (Migrant) (Class AH) visa, subclass 101, made by Maryam, with Mr Zafari as the sponsor. The primary decision-maker had not been satisfied that Maryam was the child of Mr Zafari, and had not assessed other dependency criteria. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), constituted by Senior Member John Billings, was required to review this decision.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Maryam was the biological child of Mr Zafari, as required by clause 101.211(1)(c)(i)(A) of the Migration Regulations 1994. The Tribunal noted the President's Direction regarding the scope of reviews, which generally restricts the AAT to considering only the matters on which an adverse decision was made by the Minister or delegate.

The Tribunal considered DNA evidence provided by Genomic Diagnostics, dated 26 September 2018. Based on this evidence, the Tribunal was satisfied that Maryam is the biological child of Mr Zafari. Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the visa application to the Minister for reconsideration, with a direction that Maryam meets the criterion in clause 101.211(1)(c)(i)(A) of Schedule 2 to the Regulations. The Minister was to then consider the remaining criteria for the visa.