2010674 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by a Vietnamese national. The applicant claimed to fear harm in Vietnam due to her membership in the particular social group of "Single mothers in Vietnam," alleging that her relatives would kill her for this reason. The applicant also stated she was pregnant and had a child, but provided no evidence to substantiate these claims or her relationship status. The applicant requested that the Tribunal decide her application and affirm it, seeking instead Ministerial Intervention. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visa.

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, specifically whether she was a refugee under section 36(2)(a) or eligible for complementary protection under section 36(2)(aa). This required determining if the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of membership in a particular social group, or if there was a real risk of significant harm upon removal to Vietnam.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not provided sufficient evidence to establish her claims. While accepting her Vietnamese nationality and that Vietnam was her receiving country, the Tribunal noted that the mere assertion of fear does not establish its genuineness or that it is well-founded. Crucially, the applicant failed to attend a scheduled hearing, preventing the Tribunal from exploring her claims or her request for Ministerial Intervention. Without evidence of her child, her relationship status, or the father of her child, the Tribunal could not accept that she was a single mother or a member of the claimed particular social group. Consequently, the applicant did not satisfy the criterion in section 36(2) of the Act.