1708287 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen. The applicant was not present in Australia, and the Tribunal had communicated with the applicant regarding this fact, inviting comment. No response was received from the applicant.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the applicant satisfied the requirement that they 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 in June 2019. Despite being notified of this information and invited to respond, the applicant did not do so. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the essential criterion under section 36(2).

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa. As the applicant did not satisfy the jurisdictional requirement of being in Australia, it was unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of the protection claim.