1816806 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Iran, sought judicial review of the Minister's decision to cancel his protection visa. The applicant's claims for protection were based on his alleged persecution due to his religion as a non-Muslim Christian and his ethnicity as a Faili Kurd. The Minister had determined that the applicant had provided substantially incorrect information regarding fundamental aspects of his life and protection claims, leading to the cancellation of his visa.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Minister's decision to cancel the applicant's protection visa was affected by jurisdictional error. This required the court to consider the applicant's credibility and the extent to which his evidence regarding his religious beliefs, ethnic background, and the reasons for seeking protection was reliable. The court had to assess whether the Minister's finding of substantially incorrect information was open to the Minister on the evidence before him.

The court affirmed the Minister's decision, finding that the applicant had failed to establish credible evidence regarding the true circumstances of his life and his claims for protection, beyond his nationality, education, and military service. The court noted significant inconsistencies in the applicant's evidence concerning his religious conversion and practice, as well as his ethnic identity. These inconsistencies led the court to conclude that the applicant had provided substantially incorrect information about fundamental aspects of his claims, justifying the cancellation of his protection visa.