2002224 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for review of a delegate's decision to refuse to grant the applicant, a citizen of the United Kingdom, a protection visa. The applicant arrived in Australia in October 2016 and subsequently applied for the protection visa in April 2018. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution in the United Kingdom for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, or whether complementary protection provisions applied.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's claims, which included difficulties in finding employment and marriage prospects in the UK, and a fear of shame and ridicule from friends and acquaintances if he returned. The Tribunal also had regard to country information regarding the United Kingdom, noting that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade had not issued a specific country information report. However, information from sources such as the US State Department indicated that human rights are generally respected in the UK, with legal prohibitions and effective enforcement against discrimination, and an independent judiciary upholding the rule of law.

The Tribunal found that the applicant was a citizen of the United Kingdom and that the UK was his receiving country for the purposes of protection assessments. Applying the criteria for a protection visa, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not meet the refugee criterion, as there was no indication of a well-founded fear of persecution for the reasons specified in the Migration Act 1958. Furthermore, the Tribunal found that the complementary protection criterion was not met, as there were no substantial grounds to believe that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal, the applicant would suffer significant harm. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse to grant the protection visa.