1701767 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by an individual claiming to fear harm from criminal gangs in El Salvador. The applicant alleged that a gang had demanded money or membership, threatened him and his family, and that these threats led him to flee his home country. The decision under review affirmed the refusal to grant the visa.

The legal issues before the court were whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) as a refugee, or alternatively, under section 36(2)(aa) as a person facing significant harm under complementary protection grounds. This required an assessment of the applicant's credibility and the likelihood of him facing persecution or significant harm in El Salvador.

The court found significant credibility concerns with the applicant's narrative. These concerns arose from inconsistent evidence regarding the gang's demands, the unreliability of a police report provided to corroborate his claims, and inconsistencies in his account of events and his movements. The court also noted that the applicant's travel arrangements to Australia predated the alleged threats, and that his family members had travelled to and from El Salvador and other countries without apparent incident, which did not support his claims of widespread family endangerment. Consequently, the court rejected the applicant's narrative as fabricated and concluded that he did not face a real chance of persecution or significant harm in El Salvador.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa, finding that he did not satisfy the criteria under either the refugee or complementary protection provisions. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant was an El Salvador national who could travel to and live in El Salvador without difficulty, and that the general conditions of crime and gang violence in El Salvador did not present a real risk of serious harm to him personally.