1827482 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an individual who was an Australian citizen. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically the requirement of being a non-citizen.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine whether the applicant was an Australian citizen at the time of the decision. This was crucial because section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) stipulates that a criterion for a protection visa is that the applicant must be a non-citizen. The Act's objects, as outlined in sections 4 and 29, also preclude the grant of visas to Australian citizens.

The Tribunal's reasoning was based on information from the Department of Home Affairs, which indicated that the applicant had become an Australian citizen on 29 October 2022 and remained so. The Tribunal had corresponded with the applicant on multiple occasions, including a request for comment under section 424A of the Act, regarding her Australian citizenship and its implications for her visa application. As no response was received, the Tribunal proceeded to make a decision based on the available evidence. The Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was an Australian citizen, and therefore, she did not meet the criterion of being a non-citizen under section 36(2) of the Act.

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