2008775 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision to refuse a protection visa. The applicant, who claimed to be a citizen of Thailand, arrived in Australia in November 2017 and applied for a protection visa on 25 October 2019. The delegate of the Minister for Home Affairs refused the visa on the grounds that there was no real chance or risk of the applicant suffering serious or significant harm upon return to Thailand. The applicant appealed this decision to the Migration and Refugee Division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) as a refugee, or alternatively, under section 36(2)(aa) as a non-citizen in respect of whom Australia has protection obligations due to a real risk of significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal. The Tribunal was required to consider the applicant's claims of fear of an illegal moneylender and the inability of Thai authorities to provide protection, in light of the country information regarding loan sharking and government responses in Thailand.

The Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa. The applicant failed to attend a scheduled hearing before the Tribunal, despite being invited and informed of the consequences of non-attendance. The Tribunal noted that under section 426A of the *Migration Act*, it had the discretion to proceed with the review and make a decision without further action to enable the applicant to appear, or to dismiss the application. Given the applicant's absence and the lack of further information provided to the Tribunal, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant had not established a well-founded fear of persecution or a real risk of significant harm upon return to Thailand. The Tribunal's decision was dated 10 February 2022.