Citizenship and Character

All citizenship by conferral has a requirement that “the Minister is satisfied that the person is of good character at the time of the Minister’s decision on the application”.

As was pointed out in Watson v MIAC [2007] AATA 2115 (19.12.07):

The character imposed under the legislation requires that we are positively satisfied the applicant is a person of good character. That is not an easy test to satisfy.

Indeed unlike visas, a person can fail the character test but there is a discretion still to grant the visa.

In Watson the NZ applicant had served 2.5 years of a 4 year sentence in NZ and the following troubled the AAT:

There is the question about the applicant’s failure to declare the convictions when he entered Australia in 2000. That is a serious matter which of itself raises a question mark over his character. We are troubled by his explanation for failing to disclose the convictions. He does not acknowledge the seriousness of his conduct, and, as he said in his submissions, he felt it was justified to tell a lie, to ignore the law, because he felt he had good reasons for doing so. The applicant used the expression “The sanctity of law is not always appropriate”, and that there may well be good reasons for not obeying the law. That concerns us because it suggests there may be circumstances – and there have been circumstances – where he has been prepared to put himself above the law. That certainly does not suggest good character.

This raises a useful practice point.  So often in character cases (visa & citizenship), applicants try to play down their offences.  This is an error, difficult as it is, applicants have to admit that what they have done is the past is wrong and bad. If they do not have that insight then it is questionable whether they are of good character. In that case the applicant also produced references which did not refer to the criminal convictions. Referees have to be told of the criminal convictions and the fact they know has to be referred to in the reference, otherwise the reference will be useless.