1802753 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen. The applicant's claim for a protection visa was under review by the Tribunal.

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 relevant Act. This criterion is a prerequisite for the grant of a protection visa.

The Tribunal reasoned that section 65(1) of the Act requires a decision-maker to be satisfied that all prescribed criteria for a visa have been met. It noted that movement records indicated the applicant had departed Australia in January 2018. The Tribunal had invited the applicant to comment on this information, but no response was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the criterion under section 36(2). As this essential criterion was not met, the Tribunal found it 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.