1931197 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviewed a decision to refuse an applicant a protection visa. The applicant, a citizen of Thailand, claimed a well-founded fear of persecution should he be returned to his country of origin. The primary basis for his claim was a fear of reprisal from money lenders and gang members to whom he owed a significant debt, and a general distrust of Thai institutions.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This required determining if the applicant was a refugee within the meaning of section 5H, specifically whether he had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, and if effective protection measures were unavailable in Thailand. The Tribunal also considered whether the applicant qualified as a member of the same family unit as a person who satisfied the criteria for a protection visa, given his wife had lodged a separate application.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's evidence regarding his debts and his fear of physical harm from creditors and associated gangs. However, it found that the applicant had not established that he would be unable or unwilling to avail himself of the protection of Thailand. The Tribunal noted that the applicant's wife had made a separate claim for protection, which had not yet been accepted at the time of the decision. Consequently, the applicant did not satisfy the criterion in section 36(2) by virtue of being a member of the same family unit as a protection visa holder.

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