1930620 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for review of a delegate of the Minister for Home Affairs' decision to refuse the applicant, who claims to be a citizen of Thailand, a protection visa. The applicant had applied for the visa on 6 May 2019.

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

The Tribunal noted that movement records indicated the applicant was not in Australia, having departed on an unspecified date in October 2022. 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 criterion of being in Australia, and therefore could not be granted a protection visa. The Tribunal concluded that it was unnecessary to consider the applicant's substantive claims for the visa.

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