1730058 (Refugee)

The applicant, who sought a protection visa in relation to India, failed to attend a hearing before the Tribunal. The Tribunal was therefore required to consider the consequences of this non-attendance.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant's failure to attend the hearing, and subsequent failure to apply for reinstatement within the prescribed timeframe, necessitated the dismissal of their application. The Tribunal had to determine if the decision to dismiss the application was to be confirmed in these circumstances.

The Tribunal applied the principle that where an applicant does not apply for reinstatement of their application within the 14-day period following dismissal, the Tribunal must confirm the decision to dismiss. Consequently, the decision under review was taken to be affirmed. The Tribunal confirmed its decision to dismiss the application.