1618445 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by an applicant from China. The applicant was no longer in Australia, and the Tribunal had received no response to its communication regarding this matter.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criteria for a protection visa, specifically the requirement that the applicant be a non-citizen in Australia.

The Tribunal reasoned that under section 36(2) of the relevant Act, a protection visa can only be granted if the applicant is in Australia. Movement records indicated the applicant had departed Australia in June 2018. The Tribunal had 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).

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