1729769 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by an applicant from China. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the eligibility criteria for the visa, specifically concerning their location.

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 departed Australia on 17 December 2017 and was therefore not in Australia. Despite being notified of this information and invited to comment, the applicant did not respond. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant did not meet the fundamental requirement of being in Australia, rendering them ineligible for a protection visa. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visa.