1833563 (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 her a protection visa.

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

The Tribunal reasoned that under section 65(1) of the Act, a visa can only be granted if the prescribed criteria are met. It noted that movement records indicated the applicant had left Australia in April 2020. The Tribunal contacted the applicant to invite comment on this information, but no response was received. Based on the available evidence, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia, and therefore did not meet the criterion in section 36(2). Consequently, it was unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of her protection claim.

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