Appeals and Judicial Reviews

Dealing with a refusal of your Immigration decision can be extremely worrying and stressful. It is crucial to understand the UK Immigration Appeals procedure and the judicial review process in order to successfully challenge the Home Office decision.

Appeals Procedure

You can only appeal to the Tribunal if you have the legal right to appeal. You will be usually notified of your right to appeal in your decision letter. We will be able to review your refusal letter thoroughly and advise you of your options accordingly.

You will generally have the right to appeal if the Home Office has refused you application based on:

• Asylum or humanitarian protection
• Human Rights claim
• or if your refugee or humanitarian protection status is revoked

First -Tier Tribunal

If you are appealing within the UK to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber, you must give notice of appeal to the Tribunal no later than 14 calendar days after the date the notice of decision has been sent. If you are appealing outside of the UK, you will have 28 days to submit an appeal after you get your decision. If, however, you have to leave the country before you are allowed to appeal, you will have 28 days to appeal once you have left the country.

The Appellant’s appeal will first be heard at the First-tier Tribunal. The judge does not usually give a decision on the day of the hearing. You will usually be informed of the decision in writing after three or four weeks.

If you receive a positive decision from the Tribunal, the Home Office may either reverse their original decision or appeal the decision given by the Judge. If, however, you receive a negative decision, you may be able to appeal to the Upper Tribunal, subject to the merits.

Upper Tribunal

If your appeal is refused at the First-tier Tribunal, you can apply for permission to appeal at the Upper Tribunal if you believe that the First-tier Tribunal judge made an error in their determination.

You are required to submit an application to the First-tier Tribunal to seek permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal as this is not an automatic right. Your application for permission must be submitted within 14 days of the date of dismissal of your appeal from the First-tier Tribunal, if you are in the UK. If you are outside of the UK, the time limit is 28 days.

In the unfortunate event that the First-tier tribunal refuses your permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal, you may have the option to apply directly to the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal.

Once permission to appeal has been granted, the Upper Tribunal will hear the case and assess whether the First-tier Tribunal made an error of law.

The judge will decide whether any findings of fact made by the First-tier Tribunal are to be preserved. At this stage the judge may uphold the First-tier Tribunal decision, or the judge may decide to send the case back to the First-tier Tribunal to re-decide the case. The judge may also give the First-tier Tribunal directions to make sure the error of law is not repeated.

If your case was heard at the Upper Tribunal but the judge decided that the First-tier Tribunal did not make an error of law, you may have the option of appealing to the Court of Appeal. You will need to apply for permission to do this.

If, however, you do not have the right of appeal, you may be able to apply for administrative review or apply for permission for a judicial review of the decision.

Judicial Review

A judicial review is not the same as an appeal; an appeal looks substantively at the issues of your case. A judicial review is a form of court proceedings in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action taken by the Home Office.

A judicial review can challenge the way a decision has been made, if you believe it was illegal, irrational, or unfair.

An application for judicial review should be made no later than 3 monthsafter the decision that you are trying to challenge was made.

Examples of when you may consider applying for judicial review

• If your Asylum claim has been certified
• If your further submissions have been rejected as not a fresh claim, with no right of appeal
• If you have been detained unlawfully
• If you have been refused permission to appeal at the Upper Tribunal (the time limit for a judicial review in this case is 16 days)

In a judicial review, the judge will not substitute what the correct decision is. If your application is successful, your case will be sent to the Home Office for them to make a decision on it. The Home Office may make the same decision, providing that they have followed the proper process, such as considering all the documents provided by you.

Challenging a refusal is a complex and time-consuming procedure.

Our Solicitors have a strong track record of successfully representing our client in the Immigration Tribunals and the High courts. Our in-house advocacy team are specialist Immigration Solicitors with a combined experience of over 60 years, and are overseen by our former Immigration judge and senior Immigration consultant Mr Paul Gulbenkian.

OTS Solicitors is regarded as one of the best Immigration, Employment and commercial law firms in the London.  If you need legal advice, please contact our offices on 0203 959 9123 to discuss your matter with one of our dedicated Immigration solicitors.

Some notable Cases by our Appeals and Judicial Review team at OTS Solicitors:

Our Solicitors have a strong track record of successfully representing our client in the Immigration Tribunals and the High courts. Our in-house advocacy team specialist Immigration solicitors with a combined experience of over 60 years and overseen by our former Immigration judge and senior Immigration consultant Mr Paul Gulbenkian. The only barristers that we work with are specialists in Immigration law and expert advocates in court who are highly regarded for their litigation and court experience. Some of the high profile work of our solicitors and barristers are listed below:

LC(Kenya) v SSHD [2015] EWCA Civ – In an appeal to the Court of Appeal our client was successfully represented to proceed to a full and finally Appeal as it was found that there were merits in challenging the Home Office and the Upper Tribunals decision to ignore Country Guidance cases and material evidence when deciding on the Appellants Asylum and Human Rights claim. The client's appeal was allowed and the Home Office have agreed to pay his legal costs.

IO (Nigeria) v SSHD [2013] EWHC – In judicial review proceedings against the Secretary of State for the Home Department (‘SSHD’) in connection to the correct application of the new Immigration Rule, and unlawful interference with client’s Article 3 [inhumane and degrading treatment] and 8 [respect for private and family life] rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’). The Secretary of State conceded and awarded the Applicant an in-country right of appeal and agreed to pay the client’s reasonable costs. The client has succeeded in having his Asylum claim heard in the UK and we successfully stopped any enforcement for his removal and ensured his release from detention.

DV (South Africa) V SSHD [2013] EWHC – In a judicial review challenging the Secretary of States’ refusal decision in respect of the unlawful interference with the Applicant’s Article 8 ECHR rights and no right of appeal. The Secretary of State conceded and went on to reconsider Applicant’s FLR (O) and to award an in-country right of appeal. The Client and her family were awarded leave to remain in the UK. They have continued to enjoy their family life and following an application for naturalisation their children are British Citizens.

At OTS Solicitors we are ready to discuss your Appeal or judicial review case, and a member of our UK Immigration and advocacy team will be please to take your call or email enquiries. Please therefore contact OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.