2107759 (Refugee)

The applicants, Iranian nationals born into Muslim families, sought a protection visa, claiming a well-founded fear of persecution upon return to Iran due to their conversion to Christianity. The dispute concerned whether they met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically whether they were refugees within the meaning of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The matter was before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicants had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of religion, if there was a real chance of them suffering serious harm upon return to Iran, and if effective protection measures were available to them in Iran. The Tribunal also needed to consider whether their conversion to Christianity, including attending church services and hosting house group meetings, constituted a fundamental aspect of their identity or conscience such that they should not be forced to renounce it.

The Tribunal accepted the applicants' evidence that they had genuinely converted from Islam to Christianity and possessed a credible understanding of their new faith. It found that their son had been arrested in Iran for religious reasons, indicating a real risk of persecution. Considering country information regarding the prohibition of proselytisation and state security activity against house churches in Iran, the Tribunal concluded that there was a real chance the applicants would be persecuted for their religion. The Tribunal was satisfied that the applicants did not have a right to reside in any other country and were therefore not excluded from Australia's protection obligations.

The Tribunal remitted the matter for reconsideration with a direction that the applicants satisfy section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958*, finding that they were refugees within the meaning of section 5H of the Act.