1733195 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of China, sought review of a decision by the Refugee Tribunal concerning their protection visa application. The applicant failed to appear at the scheduled hearing for their review application, leading to its dismissal by the Tribunal. The applicant did not subsequently apply for reinstatement of the dismissed application within the prescribed 14-day period.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was required to confirm the dismissal of the review application, given the applicant's failure to appear at the hearing and their subsequent failure to seek reinstatement within the stipulated timeframe.

The Tribunal applied the principle that where an applicant fails to appear at a hearing and does not apply for reinstatement within the allowed period, the Tribunal must confirm its decision to dismiss the application. Consequently, the decision under review, which was the dismissal of the protection visa application, was taken to be affirmed. The Tribunal confirmed the decision to dismiss the application.