1815017 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by applicants from the United Kingdom. The core dispute revolved around the applicants' eligibility for the visa, specifically their physical presence in Australia.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicants satisfied the criterion that they be a non-citizen in Australia, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act, for the grant of a protection visa. This required the Tribunal to be satisfied that the applicants met the prescribed criteria for the visa under section 65(1).

The Tribunal's reasoning was based on evidence from the Department of Immigration's movement records, which indicated that the applicants had departed Australia in May 2018. Consequently, the Tribunal communicated this information to the applicants on 1 February 2019, inviting comment. As no response was received, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicants were not in Australia. This finding meant the applicants failed to satisfy the criterion under section 36(2), rendering it unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of their protection claim. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visas.