1618555 (Refugee)

The applicant, who had a background in the Ahl e-Haqq faith, sought a protection visa. He claimed to have converted to Christianity after experiencing disillusionment with Islam during a pilgrimage to Mecca and subsequently finding solace and community within an Iranian Christian convert group in Australia. The dispute centred on whether his conversion was genuine and whether he faced a real risk of harm if returned to Iran, thereby satisfying the criteria for a protection visa. The matter was before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine the applicant's credibility regarding his religious conversion and assess whether he had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of religion, as defined by section 5J of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), or if he met the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa) due to a real risk of significant harm. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider if his stated reasons for rejecting Islam and embracing Christianity were genuine, and if any actions taken in Australia to strengthen his claim should be disregarded under section 36(6) unless he could demonstrate they were not solely for that purpose.

The Tribunal found that the applicant's journey of religious conversion, including his pilgrimage to Mecca and subsequent engagement with Christianity in Australia, raised credibility concerns. It noted that his increased religious participation in Australia coincided with his visa application and that he had not been baptised, despite warnings from other congregants about potential repercussions in Iran. The Tribunal also considered that the applicant had not demonstrated that he would face significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Iran, nor that he could not reasonably relocate within Iran or obtain protection there. Ultimately, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa, concluding that he did not satisfy the criteria under section 36(2) of the Act.