1807279 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant who had departed Australia. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the eligibility criteria for the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant, having left Australia, could satisfy the criterion that they be a non-citizen *in* Australia, as required by section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) for the grant of a protection visa.

The Tribunal noted that movement records indicated the applicant had departed Australia in December 2021. 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 essential criterion under section 36(2) of the Act. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visa, irrespective of the merits of the applicant's substantive claims.