1614436 (Refugee)

The applicant sought judicial review of a decision by the Refugee Tribunal to dismiss their application for a protection visa. The applicant had failed to appear at the scheduled Tribunal hearing, and subsequently did not apply for reinstatement of their application within the prescribed 14-day period.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was required to affirm the decision to dismiss the application, given the applicant's failure to seek reinstatement within the statutory timeframe.

The Tribunal applied the relevant legislative provisions which mandate that where an applicant fails to apply for reinstatement within 14 days of the dismissal of their application for failure to appear at a hearing, the Tribunal must confirm the decision to dismiss. Consequently, the decision under review was taken to be affirmed. The Tribunal confirmed the decision to dismiss the application.