1802763 (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 refused by the Department of Home Affairs, and this decision was subsequently affirmed by the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for the grant of a protection visa, specifically the requirement that the applicant must be in Australia at the time of the decision.

The Tribunal noted that section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) stipulates that a criterion for a protection visa is that the applicant is a non-citizen in Australia. Evidence from movement records indicated that the applicant had departed Australia in May 2018. The Tribunal communicated this information to the applicant, inviting comment, but received no response. Based on the available evidence, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia, and therefore did not meet the criterion under section 36(2) of the Act. Consequently, 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.