1912750 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviewed a decision to cancel the protection visa of an applicant from Iraq. The cancellation was based on allegations that the applicant had provided incorrect information in his original protection visa application concerning his education, employment history, experiences in Iraq, and fears upon return. The grounds for suspicion included inconsistencies between his application statements and information obtained from social media posts and his travel history, particularly regarding his family's relocation and the timing of his father's death.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had failed to comply with section 101 of the Migration Act 1958 by providing incorrect answers in his visa application, as particularised in the notice issued under section 107. This involved determining if the information regarding his education, employment, and reasons for leaving Iraq was indeed incorrect, and if so, whether this non-compliance warranted the cancellation of his protection visa. The Tribunal was required to reach a real state of satisfaction that a ground for cancellation existed, rather than merely identifying a possible ground.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's explanation for the apparent discrepancies, including that a social media post indicating graduation in 2010 was intended for keeping in touch with classmates and did not reflect an actual graduation. The Tribunal found that the evidence presented did not establish, to the required standard of satisfaction, that the applicant had provided incorrect information regarding his education or employment. Furthermore, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the applicant's travel to Iraq and subsequent social media activity demonstrated non-compliance with section 101. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the discretionary power to cancel the visa did not arise.

The Tribunal set aside the decision under review and substituted a decision not to cancel the applicant's Subclass 866 (Protection) visa.