1915358 (Refugee)

The applicant sought a protection visa, but the Administrative Appeals Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the visa. The dispute centred on the applicant's physical presence in Australia at the time of the decision. The decision was made by Member Anne Grant of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criterion for a protection visa that they must be a non-citizen *in Australia*. This criterion is stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act, which mandates that a protection visa may only be granted if the applicant is physically present within Australia.

The Tribunal reasoned that section 65(1) of the Act requires that prescribed criteria for a visa must be satisfied for its grant. It noted that section 36(2) specifically requires the applicant to be in Australia. Movement records indicated that the applicant had departed Australia in March 2020. The Tribunal communicated this information to the applicant, inviting comment, but received no response. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the criterion under section 36(2), precluding the grant of a protection visa. It was therefore 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.