1815506 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant who had left Australia. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the criteria for the visa, specifically the requirement of being in Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criterion under s.36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) that a protection visa applicant must be a non-citizen in Australia. The Tribunal also had to determine if it was necessary to consider the substantive claims for protection given the applicant's absence from Australia.

The Tribunal reasoned that movement records indicated the applicant had departed Australia in January 2020. The Tribunal communicated this information to the applicant, inviting a response by 14 May 2020. While the applicant's representative responded, stating the applicant had left without informing them and that there was no point continuing the application, no direct response was received from the applicant. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the s.36(2) criterion. As this fundamental requirement was not met, the Tribunal concluded it was unnecessary to assess the applicant's substantive claims for protection.

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