1707843 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered a dispute concerning the cancellation of a protection visa held by the applicant. The applicant, of Faili Kurdish ethnicity and a Shia Muslim, claimed to have been born in Baghdad and to have experienced multiple expulsions from Iraq to Iran. He asserted statelessness and a lack of civil rights in Iran, fearing persecution from authorities and the Basij militia due to his ethnicity. The Department had issued a Notice to Consider Cancellation (NOICC) alleging non-compliance with the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) by providing incorrect information in his visa application.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had failed to comply with the provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) as particularised in the NOICC, and if so, whether the visa should be cancelled. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the applicant had provided incorrect information regarding his personal details, citizenship, and the circumstances leading to his departure from Iran, which formed the basis of his protection claims. The Tribunal was also required to assess whether the NOICC itself was valid and complied with the statutory requirements for engaging the cancellation power under section 109 of the Act.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the particulars of non-compliance identified in the NOICC, which related to the applicant's claims of being born stateless in Baghdad, his ethnicity as a Faili Kurd, his marital status, the citizenship of his wife and children, and the reasons for his fear of persecution in Iran. The Tribunal examined the applicant's statements made during his entry interview, his statutory declaration, and his protection visa application form. The Tribunal was satisfied that the delegate had reached the necessary state of mind to engage section 107 of the Act and that the NOICC issued complied with the statutory requirements. The Tribunal then proceeded to consider whether the alleged non-compliance had occurred.