1823877 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviewed a decision by the Department of Home Affairs to cancel the protection visa of an Iranian national. The applicant sought to have the cancellation decision set aside.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the prescribed circumstances for cancelling the applicant's visa, specifically that the visa was granted wholly or partly based on incorrect information, were met. The Tribunal was required to consider the applicant's provision of false information regarding his nationality and statelessness in his initial protection visa application and the weight to be given to this non-compliance, balanced against other relevant factors.

The Tribunal found that the applicant's protection visa was indeed granted based on incorrect information, namely his claim to be a stateless Faili Kurd, which the applicant conceded. The Tribunal accepted that the applicant is an ethnic Kurd and had experienced discrimination and mistreatment in Iran due to his ethnicity, including harassment by the Basij. The Tribunal noted that the incorrect information was provided on the advice of people smugglers and fellow detainees who suggested that claiming statelessness would improve his chances of protection in Australia and avoid return. The Tribunal also considered the applicant's subsequent circumstances, including his marriage to an Australian resident, his Australian citizen child, his own health issues stemming from a car accident, and his expressed fears of harm if returned to Iran due to his ethnicity, anti-government activities, and renunciation of Islam.

The Tribunal set aside the decision to cancel the applicant's protection visa.