2111311 (Refugee)

The applicant, a national of China, sought a protection visa, claiming he feared persecution due to his adherence to Protestantism. He alleged that his unregistered house church was shut down by authorities, leading to his detention for two weeks, forced confession, abuse, and threats of further imprisonment if he continued to practice his faith. The applicant arrived in Australia in September 2017 and applied for the visa in December 2017, stating his wife and daughters remained in China. The decision under review was made by the Tribunal.

The central legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for one of the five prescribed reasons under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), or, alternatively, whether there were substantial grounds to believe that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of his removal to China, he faced a real risk of suffering significant harm under section 36(2)(aa) of the Act.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visa. It reasoned that the onus was on the applicant to specify the particulars of his claim and provide sufficient evidence to establish it, and that the Tribunal was not obliged to make the applicant's case for him. The Tribunal noted that the applicant's claims and evidence were vague and lacked documentation. Crucially, the Tribunal found that the applicant did not satisfy the criterion under section 36(2) of the Act, and therefore did not meet the requirements for a protection visa.