1702682 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for protection visas by applicants from China. The core of the dispute was whether the applicants met the eligibility criteria for a protection visa, specifically the requirement of being present in Australia.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicants satisfied the criterion that they be a non-citizen in Australia, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), for the grant of a protection visa. This criterion is a prerequisite for a visa grant under section 65(1) of the Act.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the applicants' physical presence in Australia. Movement records indicated that the applicants had departed Australia in August 2019. Based on this evidence, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicants were no longer in Australia. Consequently, they failed to meet the essential criterion under section 36(2) of the Act. As this criterion was not satisfied, the Tribunal concluded that it was unnecessary to consider the substantive claims made by the applicants for the protection visas. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visas.