Asylum Appeal UK

If you are appealing the refusal decision on your asylum claim from within the UK, you will have 14 days to do so from the date on which the Home Office sent their decision.

In case you miss this deadline, you will have to explain to the tribunal the reasons behind such delay. The FTT will review your reasons and decide if they still want to hear your appeal.

You can appeal either online or on paper. It is advisable to appeal online if possible, since it is quicker than a post or fax appeal.

In case you are lodging your appeal from outside the UK, you will have 28 days to appeal after getting your decision. In circumstances where you are required to leave the country before you are allowed to appeal, you will have 28 days to appeal after you have left the UK.

If you are unable to meet this 28-day deadline, you must write to the FTT. The tribunal will review your reasons for missing the deadline, and will take a decision on whether or not they will hear your appeal.

You can use the online service available on the Home Office website to:

• Lodge your appeal
• Upload supporting documents relevant to your asylum claim
• Request for a hearing
• Receive a decision on your appeal

The above is applicable only if you are appealing for yourself. You must create an account first to apply online. To proceed, you must have:

• Your Home Office reference number as mentioned on the decision letter
• Any supporting evidence
• An email address or a mobile phone number

Please note that since this is a new service launched by the Home Office, not everyone will be able to use it at this moment. If you are unable to use this service, you may apply using a different online service on the Ministry of Justice website.

Alternatively, you can apply by post, fax or email using form IAFT-5 if you are appealing from within the UK. If you are appealing from outside the country, you will have to use form IAFT-7 to appeal a decision refusing a human rights claim or protection claim, where you have been told that you can only appeal after leaving the UK.

Applicants who are appealing a refusal decision from an immigration detention centre where they have been detained, can apply only by post or fax with form IAFT-DIA.

You will have to send copies of your supporting documents along with your completed and signed application form.

On the application form, there is a question on whether you would like to have your appeal decided at an ‘Oral Hearing’ or ‘Paper Hearing’.

If you would like to have an oral hearing for your case that you and/or your legal representative plan to attend, you should go for the ‘Oral Hearing’ option. Alternatively, if you want to have your case determined solely based on the documents provided by you, you can go for the ‘Paper Hearing’ option.

Since ‘Paper Hearing’ effectively means that the immigration judge will review your documents and make a decision based on the same without hearing from you in the court, it is advisable to select the ‘Oral Hearing’ option where you will be able to give evidence in the court in person in front of the judge and answer any queries they may have for you.

Please note that the FTT may decide to have a hearing even if you do not opt for the same. You will receive an invitation from the tribunal to attend your hearing if so.

Although these hearings are carried out in public, you may ask for a private hearing or permission to attend the hearing by video link., if you have a compelling reason behind such a request. Additionally, you may request for a male or female judge to hear your case, if you believe there are issues in your appeal that make such a request appropriate.

If you have selected the ‘Oral Hearing’ option, the tribunal will inform you the date of your hearing by post or email, with details of how to attend your hearing i.e. in person or remotely by a video link or by phone.

In case you or your legal representative, or a witness whom you would like to submit oral evidence during your hearing to support your claim, is outside the UK and wants to join the hearing remotely, please get in touch with the FTT as soon as possible to request for the same.

Please be conversant with your supporting evidence as well as your witness’ statement(s), if any, and prepare your argument for the hearing. It is of utmost importance that you satisfactorily answer any questions the judge may ask you during your hearing.

You may also be required to take part in a ‘pre-hearing’, where the FTT will check whether you are ready for a full hearing.

To appeal an asylum refusal decision, you will need to submit:

• The relevant appeal form, completed and signed, for each person wishing to appeal
• Copy of your Refusal Letter
• Copy of the Reasons for Refusal, which you must have received with your Refusal Letter
• Photocopies of any other supporting documents (please provide certified translation copies if the originals are not in English)
• A completed Application for Anonymity form in case you do not want the FTT to publish your name on any court documents which will be available in the public domain

Please do not submit any original documents. Also, please note that for people appealing from outside the UK, it will be helpful if they can also send any Removal Directions, Bail Notices and Deportation Order which they have received.

The appeal fee is £80 without a hearing and £140 with a hearing. However, you may not be required to pay this fee in case you are receiving asylum support or legal aid.

If you are required to pay a fee, you can do so with a credit or debit card when lodging your appeal online or by including your details on your appeal form.

After hearing your case and/or reviewing your appeal form and supporting documents, the FTT may allow your appeal. However, it does not automatically mean that you will be able to enter or remain in the UK. It may simply mean that the Home Office will have to reconsider its refusal decision.

Alternatively, the FTT may dismiss your appeal and uphold the Home Office’s original refusal decision. In either scenario, both you and the Home Office will be able to appeal the decision of the tribunal.

If you have lost your appeal but believe that there has been a legal mistake with the FTT’s decision, you can request for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).

Your decision letter will clarify whether you are eligible to ask for a review of the Home Office refusal decision on your asylum claim. This is called an ‘administrative review’.

As of now, it takes six months or more to receive the outcome of the administrative review, if you are in the UK. The waiting time is 12 months or more for people outside the UK.

You will not be eligible for a second review unless the Home Office has found new reasons why the original refusal decision was correct during the first administrative review. The Home Office decision letter will mention if you can apply for a second review.

Alternatively, you may also seek a judicial review of the Home Office decision if you do not have the right to appeal. However, please note that a judicial review looks only at how the Home Office arrived at a decision on your case, and does not review your original asylum claim.