1806823 (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 affirmed by the Tribunal, meaning the decision not to grant the visa was upheld.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for 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 relevant Act, a protection visa can only be granted if the applicant is physically present in Australia. Movement records indicated that the applicant had departed Australia in June 2018. The Tribunal communicated this information to the applicant, inviting comment, but received no response. Based on the evidence of departure and the lack of any response from the applicant, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the essential criterion for the grant of a protection visa. Consequently, the Tribunal found it unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of the applicant's protection claim.