1704452 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a protection visa. The applicant, a Malaysian national, claimed she feared returning to Malaysia due to financial difficulties stemming from an inability to repay a loan, threats from a money lender, and her involvement with the Bersih movement, which she alleged would lead to her arrest. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant faced a real chance of suffering serious harm due to her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, or alternatively, whether there was a real risk of significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of her removal to Malaysia.

The Tribunal applied the criteria for a protection visa, including the complementary protection criterion under s.36(2)(aa) of the Migration Act 1958, which requires substantial grounds for believing there is a real risk of significant harm upon removal. The Tribunal also considered relevant policy guidelines and country information. During the hearing, the applicant's explanation of her loan changed from an unlicensed money lender to a bank loan. The Tribunal noted that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria under s.36(2) of the Act.

Ultimately, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not established a well-founded fear of persecution or a real risk of significant harm upon return to Malaysia, and therefore did not meet the requirements for the visa.