1811159 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen. The applicant sought review of a decision not to grant this visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criterion for a protection visa that they must be a non-citizen in Australia.

The Tribunal noted that section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) requires an applicant for a protection visa to be in Australia. Movement records indicated that the applicant had departed Australia in December 2018. The Tribunal communicated this information to the applicant and invited comment, but received no response. Based on the available evidence, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia, and therefore did not satisfy this essential criterion for the grant of a protection visa. Consequently, the Tribunal found it unnecessary to consider the applicant's substantive claims for protection.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.