1807541 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant from Zimbabwe. The applicant's claim for a protection visa was refused by the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criterion that they must be a non-citizen in Australia to be granted a protection visa, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act.

The Tribunal reasoned that 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 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 meet the essential criterion for a protection visa. The Tribunal concluded that 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.