2016919 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an individual who was not in 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. The Tribunal also considered whether it was necessary to assess the substantive grounds of the protection claim given the applicant's location.

The Tribunal reasoned that section 36(2) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) mandates that an applicant for a protection visa must be in Australia. Evidence from movement records indicated that the applicant had departed Australia. 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 threshold requirement for a protection visa. As this criterion was not met, the Tribunal concluded it was unnecessary to consider the merits of the applicant's protection claims.

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