1722426 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by a Colombian national. The applicant claimed to fear persecution due to past involvement with the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), a paramilitary group. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for the grant of a protection visa.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant qualified as a refugee under section 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act 1958, or alternatively, whether Australia had protection obligations under the complementary protection criterion in section 36(2)(aa) due to a real risk of significant harm upon removal to Colombia. The Tribunal considered the applicant's history, including attendance at a military school as a teenager, inconsistencies in their claims, delays in applying for protection, and voluntary return to Colombia. It also took into account country information regarding the AUC and the general security situation in Colombia.

The Tribunal found that the applicant did not meet the definition of a refugee under section 36(2)(a), noting credibility concerns and inconsistencies in the evidence. Furthermore, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant would face a real risk of significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of being removed from Australia, and therefore did not meet the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa). The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.