2208836 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by an applicant from India. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) was required to review a decision not to grant the applicant a protection 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 departed Australia in June 2023 while holding a Bridging visa C. The Tribunal wrote to the applicant under section 424A of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), informing him that its records showed he was not in Australia and did not hold a visa allowing his return, and therefore he could not be granted a protection visa. The applicant was invited to comment on this information by 15 May 2024, but no response was received. The Tribunal concluded that, as the applicant was not in Australia, he did not satisfy the criterion under section 36(2) and could not be granted a protection visa. Consequently, it was unnecessary to consider the substantive grounds of his protection claim. The Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the protection visa.