1618803 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant from Taiwan. The applicant was not physically present in Australia at the time of the Tribunal's decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for the grant of 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 *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), a criterion for a protection visa is that the applicant must be in Australia. Movement records indicated the applicant had departed Australia and remained offshore. 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 essential criterion for the grant of a protection visa.

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