1713630 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen. The dispute arose because the applicant had left Australia, and the Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for the grant of a protection visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criterion that they must be a non-citizen *in Australia* to be eligible for a protection visa, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).

The Tribunal reasoned that section 65(1) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) requires a decision-maker to be satisfied that all prescribed criteria for a visa have been met. It noted that section 36(2) specifically requires an applicant for a protection visa to be in Australia. Movement records indicated that the applicant had departed Australia on 26 November 2017. 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 criterion under section 36(2). As this criterion was not met, the Tribunal concluded it was unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of the applicant's protection claim.

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