1904490 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an individual who had departed Australia. The dispute centred on whether the applicant met the criteria for the visa, particularly in light of their absence from the country.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criterion that they be a non-citizen in Australia, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act. This criterion is a prerequisite for the grant of a protection visa under section 65(1).

The Tribunal reasoned that movement records indicated the applicant had left Australia in May 2019. Following this, the Tribunal communicated with the applicant on 21 February 2020, informing them of their absence from Australia and inviting comment by 6 March 2020. As no response was received, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia. Consequently, the applicant failed to meet the criterion under section 36(2), and it was unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of their protection claim. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visa.