1728511 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant who had departed Australia. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the eligibility 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* at the time of the decision, as stipulated by 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 found, based on movement records, that the applicant had left Australia in September 2019 and was therefore not physically present in Australia at the time of the decision. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant failed to satisfy the essential criterion of being in Australia, rendering them ineligible for a protection visa. The Tribunal determined 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.