1726514 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration to cancel the applicant’s Subclass 866 (Protection) visa under section 109(1) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The applicant, an Iraqi national, had been granted a protection visa in 2012. In 2017, a delegate decided to cancel this visa on the basis that the applicant had provided incorrect information in his visa application. The applicant’s appeal to the Federal Circuit Court resulted in the matter being remitted to the Tribunal for reconsideration.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the ground for cancellation, namely the provision of incorrect information in the protection visa application, was made out. If this ground was established, the Tribunal then had to consider whether the visa should be cancelled. The applicant’s original claim for protection was based on his fear of harm from Shia militias and the El-Sayed group due to his Sunni Muslim religion and his ownership of a music shop, alleging his brother had been killed for these reasons. The cancellation notice specifically cited the applicant’s voluntary return to Iraq on three separate occasions between 2012 and 2015 as evidence of incorrect information provided in his application.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had provided incorrect information in his protection visa application and accompanying statement. It accepted that the applicant and his brother had owned a music shop and may have had a minor altercation with some individuals, but it did not accept the applicant's claims regarding the confiscation of his business licence, the killing of his brother as a direct result of that incident, or that he was in hiding for nine months due to threats from the El-Sayed group or Shia militias. The Tribunal found the applicant to be an unconvincing witness and concluded, based on country information and the applicant's own evidence, that there was no real chance or risk of him facing serious harm in Iraq due to his past ownership of a music shop.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant’s Subclass 866 (Protection) visa.