1722074 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by a citizen of Pakistan. The applicant was no longer in Australia, and the Tribunal had received no response to its communications regarding this matter.

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 present in Australia. The Tribunal was also required to determine if it was necessary to consider the applicant's substantive claims for protection given their absence from Australia.

The Tribunal reasoned that under section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), a protection visa can only be granted if the applicant is in Australia. Movement records indicated the applicant had departed Australia in August 2018. The Tribunal had notified the applicant of this information and invited a response by 20 December 2018, 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 concluded 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.