1814759 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by an individual claiming to be a national of Taiwan. The applicant asserted that he had participated in the "Sunflower student movement" in 2014, was subsequently arrested and jailed by local authorities, and had experienced harm and threats from these authorities. He further claimed to have attempted to relocate within Taiwan but believed he could be tracked down everywhere on the island, and that Taiwanese authorities would not protect him and would punish him if he returned. The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for one of the five prescribed reasons under section 5J(1) of the Act, and if not, whether there were substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Taiwan, he faced a real risk of suffering significant harm, thereby meeting the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa).

The Tribunal considered the applicant's claims in light of Ministerial Direction No. 84, the Refugee Law Guidelines, Complementary Protection Guidelines, and country information from DFAT. It found that the applicant was indeed a national of Taiwan and that Taiwan was his receiving country for both refugee and complementary protection purposes. The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the legal framework for protection visas, specifically the refugee criterion and the alternative complementary protection criterion. The complementary protection criterion requires the Minister to be satisfied that there are substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to a receiving country, the applicant faces a real risk of significant harm, as defined in sections 36(2A) and (2B) of the Act. The Tribunal's decision would ultimately turn on whether the applicant's stated fear of being jailed and punished upon return to Taiwan, given his past experiences with authorities and his belief that relocation within Taiwan is impossible, constituted a well-founded fear of persecution or a real risk of significant harm.