1817879 (Refugee)

The applicant, a Sri Lankan national of Tamil ethnicity and Sunni Muslim faith, sought a protection visa. He claimed to fear harm upon return to Sri Lanka due to his alleged involvement, albeit unwitting, in people smuggling activities with a neighbour. The applicant asserted that he was suspected by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and feared arrest, imprisonment, and ill-treatment by Sri Lankan authorities. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Tribunal) affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had established a real chance of suffering significant harm if returned to Sri Lanka, thereby satisfying the criteria for a protection visa under the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This involved assessing the credibility of the applicant's claims regarding his involvement in people smuggling, the actions of the CID, and the potential consequences he would face upon return. The Tribunal was required to consider the applicant's ethnicity, religion, and any imputed political opinion, as well as the country information relevant to Sri Lanka.

The Tribunal found significant inconsistencies and a lack of credibility in the applicant's evidence. It noted that the applicant admitted to continuing to drive for his neighbour for about a week after discovering the neighbour's involvement in people smuggling, despite knowing he could get into trouble. The Tribunal also observed that the applicant's account of the CID's actions and his subsequent flight was not sufficiently substantiated. Furthermore, the Tribunal considered that the applicant's claims of being falsely suspected of people smuggling did not, in the context of the evidence presented, establish a real chance of significant harm. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not demonstrated that he would be persecuted or suffer significant harm, and therefore did not meet the criteria for a protection visa.