1814861 (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 satisfied the criterion that they must be a non-citizen in Australia at the time of the decision, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This criterion is a prerequisite for the grant of a protection visa under section 65(1) of the 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 left Australia in June 2019. 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 under section 36(2). As this criterion was not met, the Tribunal concluded it was unnecessary to consider the substantive claims for protection.

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