1831077 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen. The applicant was not physically present in Australia, having departed the country in February 2019. The Tribunal sought to contact the applicant to discuss this issue, but received no response.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the applicant satisfied the requirement under section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) that an applicant for a protection visa must be a non-citizen in Australia.

The Tribunal reasoned that as the applicant was not in Australia, they could not satisfy the criterion stipulated in section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The Tribunal had advised the applicant of this fact and invited comment, but no response was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant did not meet the jurisdictional requirement of being in Australia.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa. It was not necessary to consider the substantive claims for protection given the applicant's absence from Australia.