1710844 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to cancel the applicant’s Subclass 866 (Protection) visa. The applicant, a national of Afghanistan, had been granted the visa in 2011. The delegate cancelled the visa under section 109(1) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) on the grounds that the applicant had provided incorrect information in his protection visa application and passenger cards, and had supplied a bogus document.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the grounds for cancellation under section 109 of the Act were made out. This involved determining whether the applicant had failed to provide correct information or had supplied a bogus document, and if so, whether the visa should be cancelled. The Tribunal was required to consider the applicant's claims regarding his ethnicity (Hazara), religion (Shia Muslim), and the alleged persecution he faced in Afghanistan, including threats from the Taliban and an individual named Mr [A], which formed the basis of his protection visa application.

The Tribunal found that the applicant's claims regarding Mr [A] and his role in harming the applicant's father and family were cast in serious doubt by the false information provided by the applicant concerning his father. The Tribunal also considered it odd that Mr [A] had apparently taken no further action against the applicant's family after the applicant's departure, despite claims of Mr [A]'s desire for the family's land and threats to expel them. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant's explanations for providing incorrect information lacked credibility. The Tribunal noted that while the applicant might be able to obtain a passport and return to Afghanistan, it had considered the potential consequences of such a return.

The Tribunal set aside the delegate's decision to cancel the applicant's visa.