1710772 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a Vietnamese national. The applicant had departed Australia after lodging their application.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criterion for a protection visa that they must be a non-citizen in Australia at the time of the decision.

The Tribunal noted that section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) requires an applicant for a protection visa to be in Australia. Movement records indicated the applicant had left Australia in August 2017. The applicant, in response to the Tribunal's notification of this fact, acknowledged their departure and expressed personal difficulties, including sadness and depression following their father's death, and requested an opportunity to return to Australia to study. While the Tribunal expressed sympathy for the applicant's personal circumstances, it was satisfied that the applicant was no longer in Australia. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the essential criterion under section 36(2) and could not be granted a protection visa.

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