1829622 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Ghana, sought a protection visa, claiming he faced harm upon return due to his involvement in a government-organised visa fraud scheme related to the Commonwealth Games. He alleged that officials and their associates were silencing individuals who had obtained visas through this scheme, and that friends who had been deported had been threatened. The delegate refused the visa, finding that Australia did not have protection obligations towards the applicant.

The core legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant qualified for a protection visa, either as a refugee under section 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act 1958 or under the complementary protection criterion in section 36(2)(aa). This required determining if the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution or a real risk of significant harm if returned to Ghana, and whether effective protection measures were available.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's claims regarding threats to his friends, but found his evidence to be lacking in credibility. The applicant stated he was no longer in contact with friends who had returned to Ghana and relied on his brother's general statement about the ongoing situation and media reports, which he could not substantiate with specific details about his cousin's knowledge. Given the lack of direct or reliable evidence supporting the alleged threats and the applicant's inability to provide specific information about the source of his fears, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not provided probative evidence to support his claims. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision not to grant the protection visa.