1603845 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by a Malaysian citizen. The applicant's original claim for protection had included grounds related to his sexuality, but he later denied these claims, stating they were included without his knowledge by a third party who assisted with his application due to his limited English. The applicant's primary reason for coming to Australia was to find work to support his family, citing economic hardship, corruption, and cronyism in Malaysia as barriers to obtaining decent employment. He denied experiencing past harm or discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, or political opinion.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically considering both the refugee criterion under s.36(2)(a) and the complementary protection criterion under s.36(2)(aa) of the Migration Act 1958. The Tribunal was required to assess the applicant's claims in light of relevant Ministerial Directions, policy guidelines, and country information, and to determine if there were substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Malaysia, the applicant faced a real risk of suffering significant harm.

The Tribunal found that the applicant was a citizen of Malaysia and that Malaysia was his receiving country. It concluded that the applicant's claims did not relate to a fear of persecution based on his sexuality, nor did they establish a well-founded fear of persecution for any other reason outlined in s.36(2)(a). The applicant's stated reasons for seeking protection were economic hardship and difficulty in finding work in Malaysia, which the Tribunal did not consider to constitute significant harm or persecution under the Act. The Tribunal also noted the absence of evidence suggesting the applicant had a right to enter and reside in any safe third country.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa, finding that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria under s.36(2) of the Migration Act 1958.