2321006 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the case of an applicant seeking a protection visa. The applicant, a national of the Philippines, had his skilled 457 visa cancelled after his employer failed to sponsor him for permanent residency. Following his release from immigration detention after serving a prison sentence for car theft and an intervention order, he sought a protection visa. The AAT affirmed the delegate's decision not to grant the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). This involved determining if the applicant was a refugee due to a well-founded fear of persecution, or if he qualified for complementary protection due to a real risk of significant harm upon removal from Australia. The Tribunal also considered whether the applicant was a member of the same family unit as someone who met these criteria.

The Tribunal applied the definitions of "refugee" and "well-founded fear of persecution" as set out in sections 5H and 5J of the Migration Act. It also considered the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa), which requires substantial grounds for believing there is a real risk of significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal. The Tribunal found that the applicant did not satisfy the criterion in section 36(2) of the Act, and there was no suggestion he met the criteria as a family member of a protection visa holder.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.