1712531 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen. The applicant had previously been in Australia but had departed the country. The Tribunal's decision under review was the refusal to grant the protection visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it had jurisdiction to grant a protection visa to an applicant who was not physically present in Australia. This question turned on the interpretation of the relevant legislative criteria for the grant of such a visa.

The Tribunal reasoned that section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) requires an applicant for a protection visa to be a non-citizen *in Australia*. Movement records indicated that the applicant had left Australia in March 2018. Despite being notified of this fact and invited to respond, the applicant did not provide any information to the contrary. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the prescribed criteria for the grant of a protection visa.

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