1709774 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Lebanon, sought a protection visa. He had arrived in Australia in November 2012 on a student visa, which was valid until March 2015. His application for a further student visa was refused in June 2015 and this decision was affirmed by the Tribunal in April 2016. The applicant subsequently lodged his first protection visa application in May 2016, which was invalidated, followed by the current application in December 2016. The applicant claimed he feared harm from the family of his former girlfriend in Lebanon, alleging threats of death and ongoing harassment, which led him to leave Australia.

The legal issues before the court concerned whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under the Migration Act 1958. Specifically, the court had to determine if the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, and whether such persecution would involve serious harm. The court also considered whether effective protection measures were available to the applicant in Lebanon, and whether it would be reasonable for him to relocate within Lebanon to avoid any risk.

The court affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa. The reasoning focused on the applicant's evidence, which was found to be vague and inconsistent, and the significant passage of time and delay in lodging his protection visa application. The court noted that the applicant's claims of threats, while causing distress, did not establish a well-founded fear of persecution involving serious harm as defined by the Act. Furthermore, the court considered that the applicant had not demonstrated that he could not avail himself of the protection of Lebanon or that relocation within Lebanon would not be a reasonable step to avoid any perceived risk. The court concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the criterion in section 36(2) of the Migration Act 1958.