1716616 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for review of a delegate's decision to refuse the applicant, a Taiwanese national, a protection visa. The applicant claimed he feared harm from gangsters and colluding police and an underground bank in Taiwan due to his refusal to make compulsory payments to an employer's investment fund. The delegate was not satisfied that the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, including the refugee and complementary protection criteria.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). Specifically, this involved assessing whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons outlined in section 5J(1) of the Act, or whether there were substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Taiwan, he would suffer significant harm, as per the complementary protection criterion in section 36(2)(aa).

The Tribunal noted that the applicant had failed to provide any written submissions or documents despite being invited to do so on multiple occasions. Furthermore, the applicant consented to the Tribunal making a decision on the papers without a hearing, stating his agent had "vanished" and he did not understand the appeal process. Given this consent, the Tribunal proceeded to determine the matter based on the available documentation. The Tribunal found that the applicant was a citizen of Taiwan, which was the relevant "receiving country" for the purposes of the legislation. However, the provided text does not detail the Tribunal's findings on the refugee or complementary protection criteria, nor the final orders made.