1906689 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by an applicant from China who was not in Australia. The dispute concerned whether the applicant met the eligibility criteria for the visa, specifically the requirement of being within the migration zone.

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 *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), for the grant of a protection visa.

The Tribunal reasoned that a protection visa can only be granted if the applicant is physically present in Australia. Evidence indicated that the applicant had departed Australia in February 2022 and was therefore not within the migration zone. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information 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, rendering it unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of the protection claim.

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