1517188 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a protection visa. The applicant, a citizen of Nepal, arrived in Australia in October 2008 and subsequently applied for a protection visa in June 2015. The applicant's claims for protection were based on alleged threats of persecution from Maoist cadres in Nepal due to his second marriage, which he claimed was a polygamous union. He also alleged that these cadres demanded a financial donation which he could not pay, and that his life was in danger.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) by having a well-founded fear of persecution, or alternatively, under section 36(2)(aa) by facing a real risk of significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal from Australia. The Tribunal was required to assess the credibility of the applicant's claims and consider relevant country information and policy guidelines.

The Tribunal found that the applicant's claims were not credible and therefore did not meet the criteria for a protection visa. The Tribunal noted the significant delay in the applicant's application for a protection visa, which was made approximately seven years after his arrival in Australia and after his temporary visa had ceased. While the applicant claimed to fear persecution from Maoist cadres due to his second marriage and an unpaid donation, the Tribunal concluded that these claims were not substantiated to the required standard. The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.