1726474 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by an applicant from China. The applicant had left Australia, and the Tribunal was reviewing a decision not to grant the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criterion that they must be a non-citizen *in* Australia to be eligible for a protection visa.

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 December 2019. The Tribunal communicated this information to the applicant, inviting comment, but received no response. Based on the available evidence, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the statutory requirement. Consequently, it was unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of the applicant's protection claim.

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