1505327 (Refugee)

The applicant, who claimed to be an Alawite from Tripoli, sought a protection visa. He alleged that his support for President Assad in Syria made him a target for religious extremist groups in Lebanon, such as Fatah al-Islam, Jabhat al-Nusra, Islamic State, and other Salafists. He further claimed to have been shot at in his car in April 2013 and subsequently threatened, leading him to fear returning to Lebanon due to the serious harm he believed he would suffer based on his religion and political opinion. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).

The primary legal issues before the AAT were whether the applicant satisfied the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the Act, which relates to Australia's obligations under the Refugees Convention, or under section 36(2)(aa), which concerns complementary protection based on a real risk of significant harm if removed from Australia. The Tribunal also considered whether the applicant qualified as a member of the same family unit as a person who held a protection visa, as provided for in section 36(2).

The AAT affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa. The Tribunal found that the applicant did not satisfy the criterion in section 36(2) as there was no suggestion that he met the requirements of section 36(2)(a) or (aa), nor that he was a member of the same family unit as a person who held a protection visa. Consequently, the applicant failed to meet the criteria for the grant of a protection visa.