1829592 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Bangladesh, sought a protection visa. The dispute arose when the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) affirmed the decision not to grant the visa. The matter was heard by Member Sean Baker.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically the requirement that the applicant be a non-citizen *in* Australia.

The Tribunal reasoned that under section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), a criterion for a protection visa is that the applicant must be a non-citizen in Australia. Movement records indicated that the applicant had left Australia in February 2019. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but no response was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the criterion under section 36(2). As this threshold requirement was not met, the Tribunal found it unnecessary to consider the applicant's substantive claims for protection.

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