The Fiji Citizenship Appeals Tribunal has upheld the decision of the Minister for Immigration in denying citizenship by naturalization to a Chinese national in 2021 due to her inadequate command of the English language.
Shijing Chen arrived in Fiji on August 23, 2013, and established Feng Yuan Company PTE Ltd under an investor permit, which was valid from 2013 to 2022.
In their ruling on June 7, Tribunal members Justice Senileba Waqainabete, Magistrate Senikavika Jiuta, and Magistrate Thompson Lee stated, “The reason for denying Ms. Chen’s application was because of inadequacy of English language knowledge.”
The Tribunal emphasized that there were no other grounds of appeal questioning the findings on good character or the responsibilities of a Fiji citizen.
“Every intending citizen must be well versed with the English language as this is the secondary means of communication in Fiji. A failure to have at least mastered the basic knowledge despite having spent 5 years in Fiji reflects poorly on her intentions as being modest and pure,” the ruling added.