1705686 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by a Vietnamese national. The applicant had previously left Australia, and the Tribunal was reviewing a decision not to grant the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criterion for a protection visa that they must 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 physically present in Australia. Movement records indicated the applicant had departed Australia in August 2019. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but received no response. 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.