1816694 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by a non-citizen who had arrived in Australia from India. The central dispute concerned whether the applicant was physically present in Australia, a prerequisite for the grant of a protection visa.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant satisfied the criterion under section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) that they be a non-citizen in Australia. This involved assessing the evidence regarding the applicant's presence within the country.

The Tribunal's reasoning was based on movement records which indicated the applicant had departed Australia on 19 November 2018. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but received no response. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia, and therefore did not meet the criterion under section 36(2). As this threshold criterion was not met, the Tribunal found it unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of the protection claim. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa.