1917805 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by an applicant from China. The applicant had previously left Australia, and the Tribunal was reviewing a decision not to grant the visa.

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 at the time of the decision. This criterion is stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act.

The Tribunal reasoned that section 65(1) of the Act requires prescribed criteria for a visa to be satisfied before it can be granted. It noted that movement records indicated the applicant had departed Australia in November 2022. The Tribunal communicated this information to the applicant, inviting comment, but received no response. Based on the evidence of the applicant's departure and the lack of any response, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant failed to satisfy the criterion under section 36(2) and therefore could not be granted a protection visa.

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