1721826 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a former soldier from Colombia. The applicant claimed to fear harm from the FARC due to death threats received in a subsequent job. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically considering the refugee criterion under section 36(2)(a) and the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa) of the Migration Act 1958.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the current situation in Colombia following the 2016 peace agreement between the government and the FARC. It noted that the FARC had transitioned into a political party, and while a small dissident group remained active, their activities were primarily related to drug trafficking and did not represent the widespread conflict of the past. The Tribunal also considered the applicant's delay in applying for protection and two return visits to Colombia, finding the explanations provided for these actions to be vague and unsupported by evidence.

Applying the relevant legal principles, including Ministerial Direction No. 84 and country information assessments, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not meet the refugee criterion. Furthermore, it was not satisfied that there were substantial grounds for believing that the applicant would suffer significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Colombia, particularly given the diminished threat posed by the FARC and the applicant's lack of prominence. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.