1817807 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant who had previously left Australia. The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the prescribed criteria for the grant of a protection visa.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criterion that they be a non-citizen in Australia, 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 movement records indicated the applicant had departed Australia in May 2019. Consequently, the applicant was no longer physically present in Australia, failing to meet the essential criterion of being in Australia. The Tribunal had notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but no response was received. Based on the evidence, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the requirements of section 36(2) and therefore could not be granted a protection visa. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visa.