1808655 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant who was not physically present in Australia. The Tribunal was tasked with determining whether the applicant met the criteria for the grant of such a visa.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the requirement under section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) that an applicant for a protection visa must be a non-citizen *in Australia*.

The Tribunal reasoned that a protection visa can only be granted if the applicant is in Australia, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the Act. Evidence indicated that the applicant had departed Australia on 7 April 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 prescribed criteria for a protection visa. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visa.