2118858 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for protection visas by applicants from Sri Lanka. The dispute arose because the applicants had departed Australia, leading to the Tribunal's decision to affirm the prior decision not to grant them protection visas.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicants satisfied the criteria for a protection visa, specifically the requirement that an applicant must be a non-citizen *in* Australia. The Tribunal also considered whether it was necessary to assess the substantive claims for protection given the applicants' departure from Australia.

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 that the applicants had departed Australia in January 2024. The Tribunal notified the applicants of this information and invited comment, but no response was received. Consequently, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicants were not in Australia and therefore did not meet the criterion under section 36(2) of the Act. As this criterion was not met, the Tribunal concluded it was unnecessary to consider the applicants' substantive claims for protection.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicants protection visas.