1910584 (Refugee)

The applicant sought review of a decision by the Refugee Tribunal to dismiss their application for a protection visa. The Tribunal had dismissed the application due to the applicant's failure to attend a scheduled hearing. The applicant did not apply for reinstatement of their application within the prescribed 14-day period following the dismissal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was required to confirm the dismissal of the application, given the applicant's failure to seek reinstatement within the stipulated timeframe. The Tribunal was therefore required to determine the consequence of this inaction on the applicant's protection visa application.

The Tribunal applied the relevant legislative provisions which mandate the confirmation of a dismissal decision when an applicant fails to apply for reinstatement within the specified period. As the applicant did not take the necessary steps to have their application reinstated, the Tribunal was bound to confirm the earlier dismissal. Consequently, the decision under review, which was the dismissal of the protection visa application, was affirmed. The Tribunal confirmed the decision to dismiss the application.