1935781 (Refugee)

The applicant sought review of a decision to dismiss their application for a protection visa. The Refugee Tribunal had dismissed the application, and the applicant failed to attend a scheduled hearing. Consequently, the Tribunal confirmed the dismissal. The applicant then sought review of this confirmation decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was required to confirm the dismissal of the protection visa application, given the applicant's failure to attend the hearing and their subsequent failure to apply for reinstatement within the prescribed timeframe.

The Tribunal reasoned that under the relevant legislative provisions, if an applicant fails to attend a hearing and does not apply for reinstatement of their application within 14 days of the dismissal, the Tribunal must confirm the decision to dismiss the application. As the applicant did not make such an application for reinstatement, the Tribunal was bound to affirm the dismissal decision. The Tribunal therefore confirmed its earlier decision to dismiss the application.