1833876 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by a citizen of China. The applicant claimed to be a Christian who would face persecution in China due to his religious beliefs and practices. The decision under review was made by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for the grant of a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), which requires the Minister to be satisfied that Australia has protection obligations because there is a real chance that the applicant would suffer persecution for reasons of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. Alternatively, the Tribunal considered whether the applicant met the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa) of the Act, which applies if there are substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal from Australia, there is a real risk that the applicant will suffer significant harm.

The Tribunal found significant credibility concerns regarding aspects of the applicant's evidence. These concerns arose from internal inconsistencies in his account, discrepancies between his claimed religious practices and his knowledge of the Bible, vagueness regarding the denominations of churches attended in China and Australia, and inconsistencies concerning his motivation for travelling to Australia. Despite these concerns, the Tribunal ultimately concluded that the applicant was a person in respect of whom Australia had protection obligations under section 36(2)(a).

The Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration with the direction that the applicant satisfies section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act*.