1725329 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by an applicant from China. The applicant had previously left Australia, and the Tribunal sought to communicate with them regarding their visa application.

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

The Tribunal reasoned that under section 36(2) of the relevant Act, a protection visa can only be granted if the applicant is physically present in Australia. Movement records indicated that the applicant had departed Australia in November 2019. The Tribunal communicated this information to the applicant, inviting comment, but received no response. Based on the evidence of the applicant's departure and the lack of any response, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia. Consequently, the applicant failed to satisfy this essential criterion for the grant of a protection visa.

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