1600479 (Refugee)

The applicant, an ethnic Punjabi woman of Muslim faith, sought a protection visa. She had converted to Islam from Sikhism and had remarried a Muslim man after experiencing family violence from her first husband. The dispute concerned whether she met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically whether she would face persecution or significant harm if returned to India or if relocation to Nepal would be unreasonable. The decision under review was made by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration, and the matter came before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant possessed a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of membership of a particular social group, namely a divorced woman from a Sikh family who has remarried a non-Indian Muslim, or a Muslim, lone woman and mother without family support. It also needed to consider whether state protection was available to her in India and whether it would be unreasonable for her to relocate to Nepal, given the risk of sexual violence and gender-based discrimination she might face there.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's evidence of family violence, her conversion to Islam, and the subsequent ostracism and threats she experienced from members of her former Sikh community and her ex-husband's family. It noted that her parents had disowned her and that her ex-husband and his family had threatened her life if she returned to India. The Tribunal also took into account country information regarding the availability of state protection in India and the risks faced by women in Nepal. Applying the principles of refugee law, the Tribunal found that the applicant had established a well-founded fear of persecution and that relocation to Nepal would not be reasonable.

Consequently, the Tribunal remitted the decision under review to the delegate for reconsideration.