What must an applicant from Iran establish for a protection visa?

The applicant must show a well-founded fear of persecution for one of five reasons (race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion), or a real risk of significant harm on return to Iran. The assessment is individual and evidence-based.

Which official sources are considered in a claim from Iran?

The DFAT Country Information Report for Iran (updated 24 July 2023 (Version 2)) is the source a decision-maker must consider under Ministerial Direction 113 of 17 March 2026. Other relevant material, including UNHCR reporting, may also be considered.

Protection Visa Applications from Iran

Visa Plan Lawyers advises applicants from Iran on Australian protection visa applications and related merits review matters. Protection claims from Iran commonly raise issues connected to religious conversion, political expression, ethnic minority status, and membership of particular social groups. Delay narrows the available options: the statutory time limits for lodgement and for review are short, and the country reporting that governs the assessment changes.

Strategy is settled before lodgement, because the written claims made at the outset frame everything that follows, including any review.

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Representation in Claims Connected to Iran

Visa Plan Lawyers represents applicants from Iran in onshore protection matters, including preparation of statements and corroborating material and conduct of Tribunal review. Each ground of claim is identified and evidenced on its own terms.

Complementary protection, as the Department of Home Affairs explains, applies where there are substantial grounds for believing a person faces a real risk of significant harm on removal: arbitrary deprivation of life, the death penalty, torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Source: Home Affairs, Australia's protection obligations. Section 36 of the Migration Act 1958 sets the visa criteria; sections 5H and 5J define who is a refugee.

Country Information Sources: Iran

The DFAT Country Information Report for Iran (PDF) was updated 24 July 2023 (Version 2). Ministerial Direction 113 (17 March 2026) requires decision-makers to take DFAT country information into account for protection obligations assessments; the report's date relative to the date of decision is therefore a live issue in any claim.

Official travel advice is a further dated source. Smartraveller currently lists Iran at the level "Do not travel" (updated 2 September 2026; checked 25 September 2026). It is directed at travellers rather than protection decision-makers, and its weight in a claim depends on the issue in dispute.

No assessment of country conditions is reproduced here. That work is done for each client, in confidence.

Related Protection Pathways

Speak with Visa Plan Lawyers

Contact Visa Plan Lawyers to discuss a Protection (subclass 866) visa application, or Administrative Review Tribunal review, connected to Iran.