1618665 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviewed the decision to refuse protection visas to a family of six, who claimed to be Italian nationals and sought protection in Australia due to fears of harm stemming from their political opinions and alleged association with the Democratic Party of Albania. The applicants had previously resided in Italy for an extended period and had renounced their Albanian citizenship.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicants met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act 1958, which concerns a well-founded fear of persecution based on political opinion, or under the complementary protection provisions of section 36(2)(aa), which requires a real risk of significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to a receiving country. The Tribunal was required to assess the credibility of the applicants' claims of political persecution in Albania and their fears of harm from the Albanian mafia in Italy, considering their migration history and the country information available.

The Tribunal considered the applicants' claims of past political involvement and subsequent threats, acknowledging their family history of opposition to the communist regime and their membership in the Democratic Party of Albania. However, the Tribunal found the applicants' evidence regarding their political involvement to be vague and inconsistent, noting a significant period of no adverse attention until an incident in April 2015. Crucially, the Tribunal found that the applicants had not experienced any politically motivated violence in Italy or Albania prior to their departure and had not been involved in politics since leaving Albania. Furthermore, the Tribunal found no evidence to support the claim that the applicants would be targeted by the Albanian mafia in Italy, deeming this to be mere speculation. The Tribunal concluded that Italy, as a country of which the applicants were nationals and had resided in for many years, offered effective protection, and that there was not a real risk of significant harm to the applicants upon removal to Italy.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicants protection visas, finding that they did not satisfy the criteria under either the refugee or complementary protection provisions of the Migration Act.