2203458 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by a non-citizen who had departed Australia. The applicant's substantive case for protection was not examined by the Tribunal.

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 reasoned that movement records indicated the applicant had left Australia in January 2024. Consequently, the applicant was not physically present in Australia, failing to satisfy the criterion in section 36(2). The Tribunal had notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but no response was received by the due date. As the applicant did not satisfy this fundamental jurisdictional requirement, 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.