1727224 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant who had left Australia. The Tribunal, constituted by Member Linda Symons, was tasked with determining whether the applicant met the criteria for the grant of a protection visa.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criterion that they be a non-citizen *in Australia* for the purposes of section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This criterion 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 departed Australia in June 2018. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but no response was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia, and therefore did not meet the essential 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.