1715555 (Refugee)

The applicant sought review of a decision by the Refugee Tribunal to affirm the refusal of a protection visa. The applicant, who is from Taiwan, was not in Australia at the time of the Tribunal's decision.

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

The Tribunal considered evidence from the Department of Immigration indicating the applicant had departed Australia in September 2017. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but received no response. Based on this, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant failed to satisfy the criterion under section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) that requires an applicant for a protection visa to be in Australia.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa, finding it unnecessary to consider the substantive claims for protection given the failure to meet the jurisdictional requirement of being in Australia.