2012905 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a person from the Philippines. The applicant had departed Australia and was no longer physically present in the country.

The central 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. This criterion is stipulated by section 36(2) of the relevant Act.

The Tribunal reasoned that a protection visa can only be granted if the applicant satisfies the prescribed criteria, including being physically present in Australia. Movement records indicated the applicant had left Australia in November 2021. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment. The applicant confirmed their presence in the Philippines since November 2021. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant did not meet the requirement of being in Australia, and therefore could not be granted a protection visa. The Tribunal found it unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of the applicant's protection claim.

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