1933810 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen. The applicant sought review of a decision not to grant her a protection visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criterion for a protection visa that she must be a non-citizen *in Australia*. The Tribunal also considered whether it was necessary to assess the applicant's substantive claims for protection, given the preliminary issue.

The Tribunal reasoned that section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) requires an applicant for a protection visa to be in Australia. Movement records indicated that the applicant had departed Australia in December 2021. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but no response was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the criterion under section 36(2). As this criterion was not met, the Tribunal determined it was unnecessary to consider the applicant's substantive claims for protection.

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