1514881 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of an Albanian national seeking a Protection (Class XA) visa. The applicant had entered Australia using a passport from another country and had also provided a driver's licence from a different jurisdiction, both of which he admitted were not his own and that he was not entitled to possess. The Tribunal accepted that the applicant was indeed an Albanian national, as evidenced by an Albanian National Identity Card, birth certificate, and family book registration.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant was prevented from being granted a protection visa under section 91WA(1) of the Migration Act 1958. This section mandates the refusal of a protection visa if an applicant provides a "bogus document" as evidence of their identity, nationality, or citizenship, or if they have destroyed or disposed of such documentary evidence, unless they provide a reasonable explanation and relevant supporting documentation or have taken reasonable steps to do so.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant's use of a [Country 1] passport and a driver's licence that did not belong to him, and to which he was not entitled, constituted the provision of "bogus documents" as evidence of his identity and nationality. The applicant conceded he was not the lawful holder of these documents. As the applicant did not provide a reasonable explanation for their use or take reasonable steps to provide alternative documentary evidence, the Tribunal concluded that section 91WA(1) applied.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the previous decision and substituted a decision to refuse to grant the first applicant a Protection (Class XA) visa, affirming the refusal.