1906980 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Sri Lanka, sought judicial review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs to affirm the refusal of a Safe Haven Enterprise visa. The applicant, who identified as Tamil, claimed to fear persecution in Sri Lanka due to his family members' alleged involvement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He asserted that this association would lead to his arrest or killing, and that he would be subjected to extortion by the LTTE.

The Federal Circuit Court was required to determine whether the applicant had established a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race or membership of a particular social group, specifically his family members' alleged association with the LTTE. The court also considered whether the applicant's fear of arrest, killing, and extortion constituted persecution for the purposes of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).

The court analysed the evidence presented by the applicant, including his claims of family ties to the LTTE and the potential consequences of such an association in Sri Lanka. It considered the general country information regarding Sri Lanka and the activities of the LTTE, including the risk of arrest, detention, and violence. The court found that the applicant had not discharged the onus of establishing a well-founded fear of persecution. It noted that the applicant had not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that his family members were indeed members of the LTTE, nor had he established a real chance that he would be targeted for persecution based on this alleged association. The court also found that the applicant's claims of extortion were not sufficiently substantiated to amount to persecution.

The court affirmed the decision under review, finding that the applicant had failed to establish that he met the criteria for a Safe Haven Enterprise visa.