1616602 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by an applicant from Fiji. The core dispute revolved around the applicant's presence in Australia, which was a prerequisite for the grant of such a visa.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically the requirement under section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) that the applicant be a non-citizen in Australia.

The Tribunal's reasoning was based on movement records indicating the applicant had departed Australia on 10 November 2017. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but received no reply. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia, and therefore did not meet the criterion under section 36(2). As this criterion was not met, the Tribunal concluded it was unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of the applicant's protection claim. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visa.