1716862 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an offshore applicant from Taiwan. The applicant sought review of a decision not to grant the visa.

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

The Tribunal reasoned that a protection visa can only be granted if the applicant is physically present in Australia. Evidence from movement records indicated that the applicant had departed Australia on 29 January 2018 and was therefore not in Australia. The Tribunal had notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but no response was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant did not meet the criterion under section 36(2) and it was unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of the protection claim.

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