1801796 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by a Malaysian national of Chinese ethnicity. The applicant sought review of a decision to refuse the visa. The applicant's claims for protection were based on alleged discrimination against ethnic Chinese in Malaysia, his fear of persecution due to his bisexuality, and debts owed to illegal moneylenders.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), specifically whether he was a refugee or a person in respect of whom Australia had protection obligations on complementary protection grounds. This involved assessing whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, or whether there were substantial grounds for believing that he would suffer significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Malaysia.

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision, concluding that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria for a protection visa. While accepting the applicant was of Chinese Malaysian ethnicity, the Tribunal found his claims regarding discrimination insufficient to establish a well-founded fear of persecution. Furthermore, the Tribunal did not accept that the applicant faced a real risk of significant harm due to his sexuality or his debts to moneylenders. The Tribunal also noted that the applicant did not claim to be a member of the same family unit as a person who held a protection visa.