1714579 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to refuse to grant the applicant, who claimed to be a citizen of Malaysia, a protection visa. The application was heard by the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criteria for a protection visa, specifically the requirement that the applicant be a non-citizen in Australia.

The Tribunal reasoned that under section 36(2) of the Migration Act 1958, a criterion for a protection visa is that the applicant must be in Australia. Movement records indicated that the applicant had departed Australia in April 2019. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but no response was received. 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 found it unnecessary to consider the applicant's substantive claims for the grant of the visa.

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