1706675 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen. The applicant had previously applied for a protection visa in 2017.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically the requirement that the applicant must be a non-citizen *in Australia* at the time of the decision, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act.

The Tribunal noted that movement records indicated the applicant had left Australia in January 2019. The Tribunal attempted to contact the applicant to invite comment on this information, but correspondence was returned as undeliverable and the provided telephone number was disconnected. Based on these circumstances, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the criterion under section 36(2) of the Act and therefore could not be granted a protection visa. As this essential criterion was not met, the Tribunal found it unnecessary to consider the applicant's substantive claims for protection.

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