Case Note ‘underlying eligibility or qualification’”’. 41 In so doing, the AAT rejected the argument of the respondent that the reasonable steps test had not been satisfied because the applicant’s parents had failed to register the birth at the Zimbabwean embassy in Canberra. 42 The AAT accepted the argument of the applicant that the failure of her parents ‘should not be held against the applicant’, 43 and that the question was ‘what can legally and practically be done now’. 44 Accepting the testimony of the applicant’s mother with regard to the actions of the Registrar-General in refusing to register the birth, the AAT held that even if the family’s failure to register the birth in Canberra was born out of a desire to obtain Australian citizenship, ‘events appear to have overtaken them’ 45 and it was factually clear that the practical obstacles to obtaining citizenship were such that in reality, the applicant was not entitled to registration. 46 B Contradiction between Law and Practice on the Part of the Zimbabwean Authorities As outlined above, the applicant’s parents faced several procedural obstacles in attempting to register her birth. This was of particular importance to the AAT’s decision. Section 37 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe required that prior to an application for citizenship by descent being made, the birth had to be registered ‘in accordance with the law relating to the registration of births’. 47 The Zimbabwean authorities (the Office of the Registrar-General, and various Zimbabwean consulates) provided conflicting information to the applicant regarding the manner in which a birth registration was to be done. 48 However, discretion to award citizenship is ultimately vested in the Registrar-General, and the AAT took note of his unwillingness to register the birth even when the applicant’s parents presented themselves in Harare. 49 The obstacles faced by the applicant evinced not only a contradiction between law and practice, but also a lack of consistent policy to guide practice, in order to fulfil legal requirements. These practical irregularities led to procedural barriers that the applicant was unable to break through. It was not only bureaucratic inefficiencies that affected the (im)possibility of obtaining citizenship. While the Deputy President acknowledged the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s advice that, in the case of Zimbabwe, it was only high-profile émigrés who were likely to face a serious risk of harassment, he held that this did not exclude the possibility of ‘low level harassment and administrative intransigence’ being applied. 50 The oppressive nature of a regime may render 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Re DLSV (n 2) [49], quoting Re KKRG (n 36) [27]. Re DLSV (n 2) [57]. ibid. ibid [51] (emphasis omitted). ibid [56]. ibid [52]. Constitution of Zimbabwe (n 25) s 37. Re DLSV (n 2) [43]–[46]. ibid [33]. ibid [55]. 181