Chinese Drone Researcher Loses Latest Visa Appeal Amid Fears of Developing WMDs

Aug 12, 2025 - 09:56

Updated: 9 months ago

Chinese Drone Researcher Loses Latest Visa Appeal Amid Fears of Developing WMDs

A Chinese drone researcher, whose student visa was refused amid concerns of developing weapons of mass destruction, has lost his latest appeal in a five-year legal battle against Australia’s immigration minister.

Xiaolong Zhu, 36, came to Australia in 2018 with a tourist visa before being admitted to a PhD program at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT)’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Zhu’s research focuses on motion planning for multi-UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) exploration in environments without GPS guidance.

The research is to develop a framework combining hardware and software for multi-UAV navigation, and cooperating to find a target in GPS-denied and cluttered environments, according to QUT’s website.

Employees work on a production line of drones intended for export at a factory in Ruichang, Jiangxi Province, China, on Nov. 27, 2024. STR/AFP via Getty Images

In 2020, Zhu’s student visa application was rejected by then-Coalition Foreign Minister Marise Payne on national security concerns, stating that Zhu may be “directly or indirectly associated” with the proliferation of “weapons of mass destruction.”

The definition of weapons of mass destruction include the development of “missiles or other devices that may be capable of delivering such weapons.”

Zhu also previously studied at Beihang University, an institution closely linked to the Chinese Communist Party’s military and is a lead developer of ballistic missiles and stealth aircraft.

Zhu’s Multiple Attempts to Stay in Australia

In response, the Chinese researcher launched a multi-stage legal challenge in a bid to stay in Australia.

However, the attempts have all failed so far, with his appeals to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) before 2024, the Federal Circuit and Family Court in May 2024, and the Federal Court of Australia in late 2024 all being rejected.

On Aug. 11, the Federal Court in Brisbane rejected Zhu’s latest appeal and ordered him to pay the costs of the action.

A large logo of the Queensland University of Technology at its Gardens Point campus adjacent to the Brisbane CBD in Queensland, Australia on Feb. 16, 2025. Daniel Y. Teng/The Epoch Times

Justices Darryl Rangiah and Stephen Burley rejected the argument of Zhu’s barrister Matt Black, namely, there was “repugnancy or inconsistency” between the wording of the Migration Act and Australia’s migration regulations.

“In our view no such repugnancy is demonstrated in the present case and the learned primary judge did not err in so concluding,” reads the Federal Court decision.

Senator James Paterson previously said Zhu’s work had clear consistencies with military use.

“It shouldn’t require any imagination at all to understand why operating a drone in a GPS-denied environment would have military applications,” said James Paterson, then-shadow minister for home affairs and cyber security, who chaired parliament’s joint committee on intelligence and security.

“This is a classic case of drones in military conflict where you would hope to be able to continue to use them for surveillance, for target identification, and for reconnaissance when a GPS network has been taken out, as is highly likely in any major conflict.”

QUT Backs Researcher

On the other hand, Queensland University of Technology denied from the beginning that Zhu’s research was related to weapons of mass destruction, with the University’ then pro-vice-chancellor for graduate research Helen Klaebe writing to Home Affairs in 2020.

“His research concentrates on decision-making theory and aims to develop an efficient system that uses three or four drones for civilian application scenarios in search for injured person in an indoor clutter environment during search and rescue mission,” Klaebe stated.

“With the help of this system, a rescue team in Australia can precisely and quickly locate a person needing help inside a building in critical situations such as earthquakes and fires, without risking the life of a rescue team and reducing the time needed to find an injured person.”

The 2023 affidavit shed some light on Zhu’s keep fighting the rejection.

“Because I am certain that the refusal reason (Public Interest Criterion 4003b) for my student visa was unjust and unfair. I persevered in my quest for justice, no matter how difficult it would be,” he said in a late 2023 affidavit.

The Australian government’s science agency, CSIRO, had awarded Zhu a two-year scholarship worth $37,596 a year through its Data61 division, which specialises in artificial intelligence, robotics, and cybersecurity.

AAP contributed to this report.