2103333 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa by an applicant from India. The dispute arose because the applicant had apparently left Australia, which raised questions about their eligibility for a protection 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. This required the Tribunal to determine the applicant's location and, if they were no longer in Australia, whether this precluded them from being granted the visa.

The Tribunal reasoned that under section 36(2) of the relevant Act, a protection visa can only be granted if the applicant is in Australia. Movement records indicated the applicant had left Australia in September 2022. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited them to comment by a specified date. As the applicant failed to respond to this invitation, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the requirements of section 36(2) and it was unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of their protection claim.

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