2104745 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant from Pakistan. The dispute arose because the applicant had departed Australia, and the Tribunal was therefore unable to grant the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant satisfied the criterion for a protection visa that they must be a non-citizen in Australia. This required the Tribunal to determine if the applicant was, in fact, still in Australia at the time of the decision.

The Tribunal reasoned that under section 36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), a protection visa can only be granted if the applicant is in Australia. Movement records indicated the applicant had left Australia in July 2021. The Tribunal invited the applicant to comment on this information, but no response was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the requirements of section 36(2). As this criterion was not met, the Tribunal found it unnecessary to consider the substantive claims for protection.

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