2000122 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by a Lebanese national. The applicant had left Australia, and the Tribunal had invited comment on movement records indicating the applicant was no longer in the country. No response was received from the applicant.

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 36(2) of the Act mandates that an applicant for a protection visa must be physically present in Australia. The Tribunal's records, supported by movement data, indicated that the applicant had departed Australia in December 2021. Despite an invitation to respond to this information, the applicant provided no comment. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet this essential criterion for the grant of a protection visa.

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