1902279 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the protection visa applications of two Indian citizens. The applicants claimed they feared persecution in India due to the first applicant's political activities, specifically his support for Hardik Patel and the Patidar community's agitation for reservation quotas. The delegate of the Department of Home Affairs had refused to grant the visas, finding that Australia did not have protection obligations towards the applicants.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicants were persons in respect of whom Australia had protection obligations. This involved assessing whether the first applicant held a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of political opinion, or if there was a real risk of significant harm upon removal to India, as defined by the *Migration Act 1958*. The Tribunal also considered whether the second applicant, as a member of the family unit, met the criteria for a protection visa.

The Tribunal accepted that the applicants were citizens of India and that India was their receiving country. It found that the first applicant's oral evidence was generally consistent with his written claims, although some differences were noted. The Tribunal ultimately concluded that the applicants had not satisfied the criteria for a protection visa.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicants protection visas.