1826110 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen. The applicant sought review of a decision not to grant the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criterion that they be a non-citizen in Australia, as required by section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) for the grant of a protection visa.

The Tribunal reasoned that section 65(1) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) mandates that a visa can only be granted if the prescribed criteria are satisfied. It noted that section 36(2) specifically requires an applicant for a protection visa to be in Australia. Movement records indicated that the applicant had departed Australia in December 2021. The Tribunal communicated this information to the applicant 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).

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