1805053 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen who had departed Australia. The applicant's claim for a protection visa was refused, and this decision was under review 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 a non-citizen *in Australia* at the time of the decision.

The Tribunal reasoned that under section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), a criterion for a protection visa is that the applicant is a non-citizen in Australia. Movement records indicated that the applicant had departed Australia in April 2019. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but no response was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not satisfy the essential criterion under section 36(2) of the Act. As this criterion was not met, the Tribunal concluded it was 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.