1820416 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) reviewed a decision by a delegate of the Minister for Home Affairs to refuse the applicant a Protection visa. The applicant claimed to be a stateless Rohingya Muslim from Myanmar, alleging his father was involved in pro-Rohingya activism. The applicant also claimed to have participated in protests in Australia and made financial contributions to the National Unity Government. He stated he obtained a Pink Card through bribes and that his ethnicity was recorded as Bamar on official documents.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for a Protection visa, specifically considering his claims of persecution based on his Rohingya ethnicity, political opinion, and membership in a particular social group. The Tribunal also had to assess the credibility of the applicant's evidence regarding his identity, his father's political activities, and the circumstances under which he obtained documentation.

The Tribunal found the applicant to be a credible and reliable witness, accepting his consistent account of his life as a Rohingya and his efforts to obtain documentation, including a Pink Card, through the payment of bribes due to safety concerns. The Tribunal accepted that the applicant's ethnicity was recorded as Bamar on these documents, acknowledging that some Rohingya outside Rakhine State could obtain documentation identifying them as 'Bamar Muslim' or Kaman to improve their situation, though they still faced discrimination. The Tribunal concluded that the decision under review should be remitted for reconsideration.