1826819 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Ghana, sought a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for the grant of a protection visa.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant, who had departed Australia, satisfied the criterion that a protection visa applicant must be a non-citizen in Australia. This criterion is stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act.

The Tribunal reasoned that a protection visa can only be granted if the applicant is physically present in Australia. Movement records indicated the applicant had left Australia in December 2021. The Tribunal communicated this information to the applicant, who responded and confirmed his departure from Australia in December 2021. The applicant also acknowledged that his departure would lead to the affirmation of the refusal decision. Based on this confirmation, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the requirements of section 36(2). Consequently, it was unnecessary for the Tribunal to consider the substantive grounds of the applicant's protection claim.

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