1816349 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the decision to cancel the protection visa of an applicant from Iran. The dispute centred on whether the applicant had provided incorrect information in his visa application, which could lead to the cancellation of his visa under section 109 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant had failed to comply with section 101 of the Act by providing incorrect information in his protection visa application. Specifically, the Tribunal had to assess whether the visa was granted wholly or partly on the basis of this incorrect information and whether the circumstances of the non-compliance warranted visa cancellation. The validity of the section 107 notice issued to the applicant, which particularised the alleged non-compliance, was also a consideration.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had provided incorrect information regarding his name, date of birth, the circumstances of his departure from Iran, and his entry into Australia. It was satisfied that the protection visa had been granted, at least in part, based on this erroneous information, particularly concerning his identity and travel details. The Tribunal noted that a previous Tribunal decision, which remitted the matter for reconsideration and ultimately led to the visa grant, had not been privy to the applicant's concession of providing incorrect information. Applying the principles of section 109 of the Act, the Tribunal concluded that the non-compliance was significant and, having regard to all relevant circumstances, determined that the visa should be cancelled.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to cancel the applicant's Subclass 866 (Protection) visa.