2005486 (Refugee)

This matter concerned a protection visa application made by a woman and her child, who were citizens of Myanmar. The applicant claimed she feared persecution due to her Muslim faith, her involvement with an interfaith peace group, and her relationship with a Rohingya man. She also asserted she was stateless and had previously been arrested and detained by authorities in Myanmar.

The court was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically whether she had substantial grounds for believing she would suffer significant harm if returned to Myanmar. This involved assessing the credibility of her claims regarding religious persecution, political opinion, and the risk of harm to herself and her child due to her association with a Rohingya man, in light of current country information.

The court considered evidence from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights detailing the ongoing human rights violations in Myanmar since the military coup, including widespread violence, arbitrary arrests, torture, and discrimination against minority communities. Despite this general country information, the Delegate had not accepted that the applicant's involvement with the interfaith group was significant enough to attract adverse attention from the authorities, nor that she possessed a political profile likely to lead to persecution. The Delegate also found that the applicant had not established she was stateless. The decision under review was remitted.