1605194 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen who had departed Australia. The applicant's claim for a protection visa was under review by the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the prescribed criteria for the grant of a protection visa, specifically the requirement that the applicant be a non-citizen *in* Australia at the time of the decision.

The Tribunal reasoned that under section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), a protection visa can only be granted if the applicant is in Australia. Department of Home Affairs records indicated that the applicant had departed Australia in November 2017. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but no response was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the criterion under section 36(2) of the Act. As this criterion was not met, the Tribunal concluded it was unnecessary to consider the applicant's substantive claims for protection.

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