Chinese drone boffin loses visa appeal over weapons claim
Xiaolong Zhu, 36, was in Australia on a tourist visa in 2018 when he applied for a student visa to begin studying for a doctorate of philosophy at QUT's Gardens Point campus.
Zhu proposed focusing on surveying and studying the navigation of unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as UAVs or drones, in environments where GPS guidance was not available.
The immigration minister's delegate rejected Zhu's student visa application in October 2020 due to the Home Affairs Department receiving information that he was 'directly or indirectly associated with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction'.
On Monday, the Federal Court in Brisbane rejected Zhu's latest appeal of that decision and ordered him to pay costs.
His barrister, Matt Black, had argued there was 'repugnancy or inconsistency' between the wording of the Migration Act and Australia's migration regulations, but that was rejected by justices Darryl Rangiah and Stephen Burley.
'In our view, no such repugnancy is demonstrated in the present case, and the learned primary judge did not err in so concluding,' the justices stated in their decision.
The initial Federal Circuit Court decision from May 2024 noted that Zhu had a master's degree in aeronautical engineering and space vehicle guidance from Beijing's Beihang University, which is closely linked to China's People's Liberation Army.
Judge Gregory Egan said in 2024 the section of the Migration Act used to deny Zhu a visa was also concerned with 'missiles or other devices that may be capable of delivering' weapons of mass destruction.
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