2013426 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for review of a delegate of the Minister for Home Affairs' decision to refuse to grant the applicant a protection visa. The applicant, a Nigerian woman, claimed to fear returning to Nigeria due to accusations by her husband's family that she killed her husband by food poisoning, and also claimed to fear harm as a Christian. The delegate had not accepted these claims, finding no real chance of serious harm or significant harm if she were to return. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) had jurisdiction to review this decision.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically whether she was a refugee or qualified for complementary protection. This involved assessing whether the incidents described by the applicant had occurred in Nigeria and whether there was a real chance of serious harm or a real risk of significant harm if she were to return to Nigeria in the reasonably foreseeable future. The Tribunal also needed to confirm the applicant's nationality and the relevant "receiving country" for the purposes of the legislation.

The Tribunal considered evidence including the applicant's statutory declaration, media articles, travel advice, a pastor's reference, and a psychological report, alongside independent information about Nigeria. The applicant's Nigerian nationality was established through her passport and testimony, confirming Nigeria as the receiving country. However, the Tribunal found that the applicant had not established that she faced a real chance of serious harm or a real risk of significant harm upon return to Nigeria, nor had she demonstrated that she met the refugee or complementary protection criteria. The Tribunal also noted that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria as a family member of a protection visa holder.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision to refuse the protection visa.