1917762 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen. The dispute arose because the applicant had departed Australia, and the Tribunal was therefore unable to grant the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically the requirement under section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) that the applicant must be a non-citizen *in Australia*.

The Tribunal reasoned that section 65(1) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) mandates that a visa can only be granted if the prescribed criteria are satisfied. As the applicant was no longer in Australia, having departed in March 2022, they did not meet the criterion in section 36(2). The Tribunal had invited the applicant to comment on this information, but no response was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not satisfy the requirements for a protection visa.

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