1712626 (Refugee)

The applicant, a national of China, sought a protection visa, claiming to be a faithful believer of Yiguan Dao and fearing persecution if returned to China due to his religious beliefs. The dispute before the Tribunal concerned whether the applicant met the refugee criterion under s.36(2)(a) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and, failing that, whether he was entitled to complementary protection under s.36(2)(aa).

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution based on his religion, and if not, whether there were substantial grounds for believing that his removal from Australia would result in a real risk of significant harm, including torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. This involved assessing the credibility of the applicant's claims regarding his adherence to Yiguan Dao and the potential consequences of his return to China.

The Tribunal found that the applicant's evidence regarding his depth of belief and practice of Yiguan Dao was not sufficiently credible or persuasive, despite the submission of supporting documents. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not demonstrated a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership of a particular social group, and therefore did not satisfy the refugee criterion. Furthermore, the Tribunal was not satisfied that there were substantial grounds to believe the applicant faced a real risk of suffering harm amounting to torture, cruel or inhuman treatment, degrading treatment, or arbitrary deprivation of life upon return to China. Consequently, the Tribunal found that the applicant did not meet the complementary protection criterion either.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, concluding that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for the grant of a protection visa.