Refugee Law:

A refugee is a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is: outside the country of his or her nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country; or without a nationality and outside the country of his or her former habitual residence and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to that country. Comprehensive and thorough legal advice in from an Immigration Lawyer may be of great assistance understanding refugee related matters.

Where a person has more than one nationality, the country of his or her nationality refers to each of the countries of which the person is a national and the person shall not be deemed to be lacking the protection of the country of his or her nationality if, without any valid reason based on a well-founded fear, the person has not availed himself or herself of the protection of one of the countries of which the person is a national.

In Australia, applying for refugee status involves applying for a protection visa. The Migration Act provides that a criterion for a protection visa is that the applicant is a non-citizen to whom the Minister is satisfied that Australia has protection obligations under the Refugees Convention as amended by the Refugees Protocol. Australia does not have protection obligations to non-citizens who have not taken all possible steps to avail themselves of the right to enter or reside in temporarily or permanently in any other country. However, if the non-citizen has a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion in relation to any such country, Australia will have protection obligations towards that person. Australia will also have protection obligations towards non-citizens who have a well-founded fear for the aforementioned reasons that the country in which they have a right of entry or residence will return them to a country where they face persecution. 

Essentially, a protection visa applicant must satisfy the decision-maker that they: have a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion (these are referred to as the “Convention grounds”); are outside their country of nationality or habitual residence; are unable or unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that country or to return to it due to their fear of persecution. This is referred to as the “Convention definition”. The Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees 1967 served to extend the Refugees Convention beyond persons displaced by events in Europe before January 1951. However, for present purposes the reference to the Refugees Convention will encapsulate both documents. In relation to any of the Convention grounds, imputed opinion, race, religion, nationality or membership of a social group is also included as it is often the perception of the persecutor that is the trigger for the persecutory conduct. 

We can assist you with the processes involved in disputing adverse decisions relating to visas. We do not process Visa Applications. To book a consultation, please contact (02) 9233 4048 or send an email to info@navado.com.au.

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