1813167 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Vietnam, sought a protection visa. The Refugee Tribunal dismissed the applicant's application for failing to attend a scheduled hearing. The applicant did not apply for reinstatement of the application within the prescribed 14-day period following the dismissal. The matter came before the Tribunal for review of its own decision.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was required to confirm the dismissal of the applicant's protection visa application, given the applicant's failure to seek reinstatement within the statutory timeframe.

The Tribunal applied the principle that where an applicant fails to apply for reinstatement of a dismissed application within the stipulated period, the Tribunal is mandated to confirm the decision to dismiss the application. Consequently, the decision under review was taken to be affirmed. The Tribunal confirmed its earlier decision to dismiss the application.