In recent times, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship has begun refusing Citizenship and Visa applications on the grounds of character at a far greater rate. It is not clear why this is happening, but there are some avenues of redress if this has happened to you.
To approve an application for Australian Citizenship, it is a requirement that the person be of good character. There has been a much more restrictive definition of good character adopted by the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship of late. However, it is possible to challenge a decision like this in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Under s.21(2)(h) of the AUSTRALIAN CITIZENSHIP ACT 2007 (Cth) it is a requirement that the person applying for citizenship must be considered by the Minister to be of good character. In the past, for an application to be rejected, the applicant would need to have a serious criminal record. However, some citizenship applications have been rejected recently due to very minor offences such as speeding fines.
If you think that it may be possible for you a challenge the decision to reject your citizenship application, please do not hesitate to contact us.
