1814447 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to refuse protection visas to a family of Egyptian nationals. The first applicant, a Coptic Christian woman, alleged she and her family had faced threats and violence due to their religious affiliation and her deceased husband's business dealings, which involved constructing churches. Her first husband and son were killed in a targeted attack, and her second husband had also been threatened. The applicants had previously had their protection visa applications affirmed by the Tribunal, but this decision was quashed by the Federal Circuit Court, which remitted the matter for redetermination.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the first applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958*, and whether the other applicants, as members of her family unit, also met the relevant criteria under section 36(2)(b)(i). This required the Tribunal to assess the credibility of the first applicant's claims regarding persecution and the risk of harm she faced in Egypt due to her Coptic Christian faith and her family's history.

The Tribunal considered the evidence presented, including country information regarding the status of Coptic Christians and women in Egypt, and the specific claims made by the first applicant concerning attacks and threats against her family members and friends. The Tribunal was satisfied that the first applicant met the criteria under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act*. Consequently, the Tribunal was also satisfied that the other applicants met the criteria under section 36(2)(b)(i) by virtue of being members of the same family unit as the first applicant.

The Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration with directions that the first named applicant satisfies section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act*, and that the other applicants satisfy section 36(2)(b)(i) on the basis of their membership in the same family unit as the first named applicant.