1723390 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by an applicant from Pakistan. The dispute arose because the applicant had departed Australia, and the Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criterion that they be a non-citizen in Australia, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), which is a prerequisite for the grant of a protection visa under section 65(1) of the Act.

The Tribunal reasoned that movement records indicated the applicant had left Australia in December 2020. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment by 12 April 2021, but received no response. 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 substantive claims for protection. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.