1513401 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for review of a delegate's decision to refuse to grant the applicant, a citizen of Pakistan, a protection visa under section 65 of the *Migration Act 1958*. The applicant arrived in Australia in June 2014 and applied for the visa in October 2014. The applicant claimed he had converted from Sunni to Shia Islam and subsequently received threats from Sunni extremists, leading him to flee Pakistan.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the applicant had established a well-founded fear of persecution for a Convention reason, specifically religion, such that he met the criteria for a protection visa. This involved assessing the credibility of the applicant's claims regarding his conversion, the threats he allegedly received from extremist groups, and the inability of Pakistani law enforcement to offer protection. The court also considered the delay in the applicant's protection visa application.

The court affirmed the delegate's decision, finding that the applicant had not established a well-founded fear of persecution. The reasoning focused on inconsistencies in the applicant's evidence and credibility issues, which led the court to conclude that the applicant had not discharged his onus of proof. The court applied the principles of assessing claims for protection visas, including the need for credible and consistent evidence to support allegations of persecution.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.