Yilmaz v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs [1999] FCA 1795

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA Yilmaz v Minister for Immigration & Multicultural Affairs [1999] FCA 1795

AHMET YILMAZ v MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS N 1160 OF 1999 JUDGE: SACKVILLE J PLACE: SYDNEY DATE: 17 DECEMBER 1999

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY N 1160 OF 1999

BETWEEN: AHMET YILMAZ

APPLICANT

AND: MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

RESPONDENT

JUDGE: SACKVILLE J

DATE OF ORDER: 17 DECEMBER 1999

WHERE MADE: SYDNEY

THE COURT ORDERS THAT: 1. The application be dismissed. 2. The applicant pay the respondent's costs of the proceedings. Note: Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with in Order 36 of the Federal Court Rules.

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY N 1160 OF 1999

BETWEEN: AHMET YILMAZ

APPLICANT

AND: MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS

RESPONDENT

JUDGE: SACKVILLE J

DATE: 17 DECEMBER 1999

PLACE: SYDNEY

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

The Application 1 The applicant is a thirty-eight year old Turkish national. He has a wife and three children, all of whom are in Turkey. He arrived in Australia as a seaman, having jumped ship on 30 June 1999. 2 The applicant applied for a protection visa on 8 July 1999. On 6 August 1999, a delegate of the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (the "Minister") refused to grant the applicant a protection visa. This decision was affirmed by the Refugee Review Tribunal ("RRT") on 5 October 1999. The applicant now applies to this Court for review of the RRT's decision. It will be seen that the application for a protection visa has been dealt with very expeditiously.

The Legislation 3 Under s 65(1) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) ("Migration Act")the Minister may grant a visa only if satisfied that the criteria prescribed by the Migration Act or the regulations have been satisfied. A criterion for the grant of a protection visa is that the applicant for the visa is a non-citizen in Australia to whom Australia has protection obligations under the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees ("Convention"): Migration Act, s 36(2). That criterion for a protection visa is fulfilled where, at the time of the decision, the Minister "is satisfied that the applicant is a person to whom Australia has protection obligations under the [Convention]": Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), reg 866.221. 4 Article 1A(2) of the Convention defines a refugee as a person who "owing to 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 nationality and is unable to, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it."