2015766 (Refugee)

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

The primary 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* at the time of the decision, as stipulated by section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the applicant's physical presence in Australia. Movement records indicated that the applicant had left Australia in August 2023. 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 satisfy the essential criterion for the grant of a protection visa. The Tribunal concluded that it was 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.