2100092 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by an applicant from India. The applicant had departed Australia, and the Tribunal sought to ascertain their current location and eligibility for the visa.

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 noted that movement records indicated the applicant had left Australia in September 2022. Consequently, the Tribunal contacted the applicant, informing them that they could not be granted a protection visa as they were no longer in Australia, and invited them to comment. As the applicant did not respond to this invitation, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia. This finding meant the applicant failed to satisfy the criterion under section 36(2) of the Act, rendering it unnecessary for the Tribunal to consider the substantive grounds of the applicant's protection claim.

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