1722057 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen. The applicant sought review of a decision not to grant this 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 under section 65(1) of the Act, a visa can only be granted if the prescribed criteria are met. It found, based on movement records indicating the applicant left Australia in August 2018, that the applicant was 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 of being in Australia, and therefore could not be granted a protection visa. The Tribunal concluded that it was unnecessary to consider the applicant's substantive claims for protection.

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