A LEBANESE man who says he is gay and became engaged to an Australian woman to please his abusive father has been denied a protection visa because he was not believed to be homosexual.

The 25-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, sought the visa in April last year, saying he suffered persecution in Lebanon for being gay and experienced constant pressure from his father to marry because he was not ''acting like a man''.

The man purported to have had two secret homosexual relationships before coming to Australia for the first time in 2007.

One night when he had returned home late with a friend, his father tied him up, hit him and burnt him with a cigarette, the man claimed.

But during his first visit to Australia, the man became engaged to a woman after they were introduced by one of his uncles.