1728406 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for review of a delegate's decision to refuse to grant the applicant, a Malaysian citizen, a protection visa. The applicant arrived in Australia on an Electronic Travel Authority visa and subsequently applied for a protection visa. The delegate had refused the visa on 8 November 2017.

The core legal issues before the Tribunal were whether there was a real chance that the applicant would be persecuted in Malaysia for one of the five prescribed reasons under s 5J(1)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), or whether there were substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Malaysia, the applicant would suffer significant harm under s 36(2)(aa) of the Act.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not provided evidence of personal circumstances or outlined claims that would establish a well-founded fear of persecution. The applicant's stated reasons for leaving Malaysia, namely "political issue and economic issue," and the fear of having "no job" and being unable to support himself and his family upon return, were not considered to be grounds for persecution under the Act. The Tribunal had regard to country information indicating Malaysia's status as an upper-middle-income economy with measures in place to mitigate economic shocks, and concluded that the applicant had not demonstrated a real risk of persecution or significant harm.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the protection visa.