1904384 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant from Iraq. The applicant had left Australia, and the Tribunal was reviewing a decision not to grant the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criterion that they must be a non-citizen in Australia to be eligible for a protection visa, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act.

The Tribunal reasoned that movement records indicated the applicant had departed Australia in April 2019. The Tribunal communicated with the applicant on 21 February 2020, noting their absence from Australia and inviting comment by 6 March 2020. 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 essential criterion was not met, the Tribunal found it unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of the applicant's protection claim.

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