1806550 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of China seeking a protection visa, failed to appear at a hearing before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Consequently, the Tribunal dismissed the application. The applicant did not subsequently apply for reinstatement of the 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 application, given the applicant's failure to appear and their subsequent failure to seek reinstatement.

The Tribunal applied the relevant procedural rules which stipulate that where an applicant fails to appear at a hearing and does not apply for reinstatement within the specified timeframe, the Tribunal must confirm the decision to dismiss the application. In accordance with these rules, the Tribunal found that the decision under review, which was the dismissal of the application, was therefore affirmed. The Tribunal confirmed its decision to dismiss the application.