1802456 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr A against the decision to affirm the refusal of his protection visa application. Mr A, a national of Vietnam, had arrived in Australia in 2017. The primary dispute revolved around whether Mr A met the criteria for a protection visa, particularly in light of the circumstances surrounding his application and his stated reasons for not wishing to return to Vietnam.

The court was required to determine whether Mr A met the criteria for the grant of a protection visa as specified in section 36(2)(a) or (aa) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This involved a de novo hearing on the merits, meaning the court had to reach the correct or preferable decision based on the evidence before it, irrespective of any prior errors. A key issue was whether the grounds stated in Mr A's visa application were false, and whether Mr A's lack of understanding of the application's nature impacted the assessment of his claim.

The court accepted Mr A's evidence that his sole reason for not returning to Vietnam was the absence of close family members there. However, the court found that Mr A did not understand the nature of the visa he had applied for, stating he was unaware it was a protection visa application. The application had been prepared by another person, and Mr A, with limited English proficiency, had not read or had the application translated before its submission. The court concluded that the grounds for a protection visa as set out in the application form were false, and consequently, affirmed the decision under review.