Ly v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs
[2000] FCA 15
At a glance
Source factsCourt
Federal Court of Australia
Decision date
2000-01-12
Before
Kenny J
Source
Original judgment source is linked above.
Judgment (11 paragraphs)
the judicial review application 1 This is an application for judicial review, pursuant to s 486 of the Migration Act 1958 ("the Act"), of a judicially-reviewable decision made by a delegate of the respondent refusing the grant of a class tr-short stay (visitor) subclass 676-tourist (short stay) visa ("a tourist visa") to the applicant, Ly Kim Tong. Mr Ly, who is a Vietnamese national and resident, lodged his application for a tourist visa in December 1997 at the Australian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Further material in support of his application was provided to the delegate under cover of letters dated 15 January 1998 and 7 May 1998. The delegate notified Mr Ly of his decision by facsimile transmission dated 24 June 1998.
mr ly's visa application 2 According to his application, Mr Ly applied for a tourist visa in order to visit Australia between March and June 1998. (Although the proposed dates have long since passed, it does not follow that judicial review of the delegate's decision to grant him a visa is nugatory: apparently, Mr Ly continues to want to visit Australia.) From the information provided to the delegate by Mr Ly, it appears that Mr Ly, who was born on 10 January 1966, is a hairdresser by occupation. In December 1997, he was employed in a hairdressing salon in An Giang Province. He was unmarried; and his family in Vietnam included his seventy-six year-old mother and eight siblings, as well as five uncles and aunts. He had an aunt, uncle and cousins in Australia. Mr Ly stated, through his solicitor and migration agent ("Law Partners"), that his purpose in coming to Australia was to visit his cousin, Dr Duc Vinh Duong, and to have a holiday. Dr Duong, a qualified dentist, stated that he would support Mr Ly during his stay in Australia. 3 In submitting that the Minister ought to be satisfied that Mr Ly's expressed intention only to visit Australia was genuine, Law Partners wrote: The Minister has made a policy direction dated 17 September 1996 and known as 'Policy Direction No 1 of 1996' to assist in interpretation of [r 676.221(2)(c)]. In Re Boceski (IRT Decision 4015, 13 July 1994) it was stated that neither the Migration Regulations nor the policy directions (an earlier version of Policy Direction No 1 of 1996) impose a duty on the decision maker to adopt an overly suspicious attitude to these kinds of applications. This statement has been consistently endorsed by the Tribunal in relation to Policy Direction No 1 of 1996. Policy Direction No 1 of 1996 provides a framework to assist in applying the regulations. Drawing upon this framework the following should be taken into account in determining that the applicant does not intend to settle in Australia and wishes only to visit Australia: (1) the Applicant has had ongoing employment in his home country for the past 5 years. The occupation of hairdresser is quite a good one in Vietnam and when the Applicant eventually starts up his own salon he can reasonably expect a lucrative business. This will act as a significant incentive to return to his home country; (2) the Applicant's mother, who is aged 76, and his eight siblings all remain in Vietnam. He also has five Aunts and Uncles in Vietnam. In Australia he has just an Aunt, Uncle and cousins. It is clear that his family links with Vietnam are very strong indeed and massively outweigh those he has with Australia. This will be a considerable incentive for him to return home; (3) the character and conduct of the Applicant are good which lends credibility to his statement that he intends only to visit; (4) there are no circumstances in the Applicant's home country such as military service commitments, unemployment, economic situation, civil disruption or circumstances causing severe disruption to supply of goods and services or to employment which might induce the Applicant not to return to his own country; (5) the Applicant has a genuine purpose for a visit to Australia in that he has relatives to visit; (6) the Applicant has no history of breaching immigration or any other laws; (7) Duc Vinh Duong who is supporting the application has no history of breaching immigration or any other laws. Nor does Duc Vinh Duong have any history of breaching sponsorship obligations. Mr Ly's visa application was supported by, amongst other things, a statement dated 1 August 1997 from his employer in Vietnam and a statutory declaration dated 9 January 1998 from his cousin. This latter document stated that Dr Duong and his parents had invited Mr Ly to Australia "for a short visit"; that in Australia Mr Ly would stay with Dr Duong and his parents; and that Dr Duong would provide financial support to Mr Ly during his stay. The delegate was also provided with some evidence of Dr Duong's financial position.