1917246 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of an applicant seeking a protection visa. The applicant, a citizen of Ghana, claimed to fear persecution due to his conversion to Judaism and alleged targeting by his father or his father's followers. The AAT was required to determine whether Australia owed protection obligations to the applicant.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for a Convention reason, or alternatively, whether there were substantial grounds for believing that as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Ghana, the applicant would suffer significant harm. This involved assessing the applicant's credibility and the veracity of his claims regarding persecution and his past immigration issues in another country.

The Tribunal found that the applicant's claims were not substantiated and that he did not have a well-founded fear of persecution. The Tribunal noted significant credibility concerns, particularly regarding the applicant's explanation for his deportation from another country due to migration fraud, which he attributed to false allegations by his ex-wife. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not demonstrated a real chance of persecution for a Convention reason, nor had he established a real risk of significant harm upon return to Ghana. The Tribunal applied the principles outlined in sections 36(2)(a) and 36(2)(aa) of the Migration Act 1958, considering the definitions of "refugee" and "significant harm" and the requirement for a well-founded fear of persecution.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.