1510084 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the protection visa application of a Chinese citizen from Shandong Province. The applicant claimed to have a well-founded fear of persecution in China due to her adherence to Christianity and participation in an unregistered Protestant church. She alleged that she was detained and questioned by Chinese authorities following a church raid, and that her church was subsequently seized. The applicant also cited opposition from her husband and threats to her pension from her former employer as further hardships.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution in China for one of the five reasons outlined in the Refugees Convention, or, alternatively, whether there were substantial grounds to believe that her removal to China would result in a real risk of significant harm. In making its decision, the Tribunal was obliged to consider Ministerial Direction No. 56, which mandates the consideration of relevant policy guidelines from the Department of Immigration and country information assessments from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The Tribunal found that the applicant's account of her religious activities and the subsequent raid on her church, including the confiscation of religious items and her detention, was credible. It concluded that the applicant had established a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of her religious beliefs. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant met the criterion for protection obligations under the Refugees Convention, specifically s. 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act.

The Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration with the direction that the applicant satisfies s. 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act.