2317413 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant from China. The dispute arose because the applicant had apparently left Australia, which raised questions about their eligibility for the visa.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant met the criterion of being a non-citizen *in* Australia, as required by section 36(2) of the relevant Act for the grant of a protection visa. The Tribunal also considered whether it was necessary to assess the substantive grounds of the protection claim given the applicant's apparent absence from Australia.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the jurisdictional requirement that the applicant must be in Australia to be granted a protection visa. Movement records indicated the applicant had departed Australia in October 2023. The Tribunal notified the applicant of this information and invited comment, but no response was received. Based on this, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant was not in Australia and therefore did not meet the criterion under section 36(2). Consequently, the Tribunal concluded it was unnecessary to consider the applicant's substantive claims for protection.

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