What Is The Asylum Appeal Process In The UK?

Overview

You must file an immigration appeal within 14 days of receiving your decision letter to the First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber to continue receiving asylum seeker support and continued right to remain. To do this, fill out the notice of appeal form that was enclosed with your decision letter or download it from the government website here.

To appeal, you’ll need to send:

• The filled-out form
• Copy of your immigration letter (keep the original for your records)
• Supporting documents

 Documents You Need to Include in Your Appeal Application

You’ll need to include these documents alongside your appeal application:

• Why you are appealing the decision (known as your “grounds of appeal”)
• Documents that support your human rights claim
• Why your immigration appeal is late (if it is)

Decide on a Paper or Oral Hearing

You will also have to decide whether you want a paper or oral hearing.

• Paper hearings are done through documents only
• An oral First-tier Tribunal hearing allows you to speak and can be arranged by phone, video, or in person

If the First-tier Tribunal immigration and asylum chamber judge overseeing your case decides on an in-person hearing, you must go to London. If you don’t live in London, travel to the city and accommodation for the night will be paid for by the Home Office.

How to Send the Form

You can send the paper form through post, email, or fax to the HM Courts and Tribunals Service. You’ll find the contact details and address on the notice form.

What Steps You Can Take if Your Human Rights Claim is Certified

In some cases, your claim will be certified, meaning the Home Office rejected it because your case is “clearly unfounded”. Certified decisions occur in two instances:

• The country you are from is considered “generally safe”
• You stayed in the UK for too long before making your protection claim

In these cases, you do not have the right to appeal the Home Office’s refusal in the UK. You can, however, contest your immigration application from your home country or apply for administrative review.

Applying for Administrative Review

An administrative review means asking the Home Office to reconsider your case. You can request this review only if your casework has clear errors. For example, if:

• Key facts like names, dates or locations are incorrect
• You suspect there was a mistranslation error
• There are case-working errors

Applying for administrative review costs £80. The Home Office will refund this money to you if its initial decision is overturned and you’re granted asylum status.

Overview

You will usually hear back from the First-tier tribunal immigration and asylum chamber within a week after submitting your immigration appeal request. They will either let you know whether or not they will consider your case or if they need more information.

If you need to send more information, you’ll need to contact the Home Office Section 4 Casework Team to send the documents requested.

What Happens If Your Case is Approved

If the First-tier Tribunal appeal is allowed, what next? The First-tier Tribunal will then give you your appeal hearing date. This hearing may be paper or oral. If you have an in-person or phone hearing, you’ll be contacted a few days in advance and told what documents you must bring. Alternatively, you may be able to send those documents in the post beforehand.

The tribunal will also let you know if you need to bring any witnesses. Contact those requested witnesses as soon as possible to ensure they attend the appeal hearing date.

What is a Paper Appeal Hearing?

A paper hearing means the judge will decide based only on paper evidence. In this case, the judge will look at your notice of appeal form, the documents, and any proof from the Home Office.

What Happens at the In-Person Hearing?

You can attend the oral hearing by phone, video, or in person. As with all hearings, you, a friend, or a lawyer will need to present your case to an impartial judge. Do keep in mind that you won’t be arguing alone. The Home Office will have their own representatives there to back up their initial decision (in this case, to refuse your protection claim).

This can be a very daunting process, especially if you aren’t confident in speaking English. While you can request an interpreter in advance, that translator can only relay what is being said and cannot give you advice.

Having someone who knows the full extent of immigration law on your side can take away a lot of stress, as you can rest easy knowing your case is being presented as well as it could.

Our team at Total Law are here to help, from offering advice to full representation at the hearing, to give you the best chance at having your appeal succeed. To learn more, get in touch with our team at 0333 305 9375 or by using the online contact form.

Overview

You will typically get one of three decisions from the immigration judge:

1. The appeal was allowed, meaning you have been granted asylum status or will continue to receive asylum support, depending on your situation.
2. The appeal was dismissed, meaning it was turned down and rejected.
3. The judge has asked the Home Office to look at your case again, also known as “remitting” the immigration appeal.

What Happens if My Immigration Appeal Is Successful?

Once you have refugee status, you can remain in the UK for at least five years.

After those five years, you can apply for settlement, which is the next step towards British citizenship. You will need to make this application one month before your initial five years ends.

How Long Does It Take to Get a Visa After Appeal in the UK?

After your appeal is allowed, how long to get a visa? While there is no visa per se, you will get your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) and leave to remain once your right to remain is granted. This BRP should arrive between 7 and 10 days.

What Happens If My Asylum Appeal Is Unsuccessful?

The First-tier Tribunal’s decision is final. You can only appeal further if there’s evidence that the judge or tribunal staff did not follow the correct procedures or the law during your appeal. In this case, you can look into getting a Home Office appeal against the First-tier Tribunal decision, meaning you’ll appeal to the Upper Tribunal.