1819468 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of several Sri Lankan citizens seeking protection visas. The primary applicant claimed to have been a member of the Sri Lankan Freedom Party and to be pursued by a former colleague who had joined the United National Party and was now a local council representative. The dispute centred on whether the primary applicant, and by extension his family members, met the criteria for a protection visa under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).

The Tribunal was required to determine if the primary applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of political opinion, or if there were substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Sri Lanka, he would suffer significant harm. This involved assessing the credibility of the applicant's claims and the available country information regarding the risk of harm in Sri Lanka. The Tribunal also had to consider whether internal relocation within Sri Lanka would be a reasonable option for the applicant.

The Tribunal, applying Ministerial Direction No. 84 and relevant guidelines, found a distinct lack of corroborating evidence to support the applicant's claims of being pursued on a political basis. It was not satisfied that the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution or a real risk of suffering significant harm if returned to Sri Lanka. The Tribunal considered that it would be reasonable for the applicant to relocate to another part of Sri Lanka not subject to the influence of the individual he feared.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicants protection visas, finding that they did not satisfy the criteria under sections 36(2)(a) or 36(2)(aa) of the Act, and therefore could not satisfy the criteria under sections 36(2)(b) or 36(2)(c).