1819212 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen. The dispute arose because the applicant had departed Australia, and the Tribunal was therefore unable to grant the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically the requirement that the applicant must be in Australia at the time of the decision. The Tribunal also considered whether it was necessary to assess the applicant's substantive claims for protection given their absence from Australia.

The Tribunal's reasoning was based on section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), which stipulates that a protection visa can only be granted if the applicant is a non-citizen in Australia. Movement records indicated the applicant had left Australia in November 2018. The Tribunal communicated this information to the applicant, inviting comment, but received no response. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the statutory criterion for the grant of a protection visa.

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