2007811 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a protection visa. The applicant, a citizen of Malaysia, claimed to have left her country due to poverty, economic problems, and high government taxes, coupled with her perceived inability to secure employment due to poor academic results. She stated she had not experienced harm or attempted to relocate within Malaysia, and that upon return, she would not be harmed but would also not receive protection from authorities, who considered her family's problems minor.

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. This involved determining if she qualified as a refugee due to a well-founded fear of persecution, or if she was owed complementary protection because there were substantial grounds for believing she would suffer significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Malaysia. The Tribunal also considered whether she was a member of the same family unit as a person who met these criteria.

The Tribunal found that the applicant's claims were vague and inconsistent, and that she had not established a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. Specifically, the applicant stated she would not be harmed upon return and that the authorities would not protect her due to her low status, which did not amount to a well-founded fear of persecution. Furthermore, the Tribunal noted the absence of evidence suggesting she would suffer significant harm, or that effective protection measures would not be available to her in Malaysia. The Tribunal also found no basis for her to be considered a member of the same family unit as a person who met the protection criteria.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa, concluding that she did not satisfy the criteria under section 36(2) of the Migration Act 1958.