Appeal a decision by the immigration and asylum tribunal
You can appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) if you think there’s a legal mistake with a decision made by the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).
The tribunal is independent of government and will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision.
Further Information
How to appeal
For example, if the tribunal:
- did not apply the correct law or wrongly interpreted the law
- did not follow the correct procedures
- had no evidence or not enough evidence to support its decision
Ask for a hearing
- just on the information in your application
- at a hearing that you or your representative can go to
The tribunal can decide to have a hearing even if you do not ask for one.
You’ll be told if this is the case and invited to attend if you’re in the UK.
If they do not hold a hearing, a judge will decide your case based on your application.
If you have a hearing
Private hearings or hearings by video
Hearings are usually carried out in public. If you have an important need (for example you think you’ll be put in danger if you go to the hearing), you can ask:
- for your name not to appear on any tribunal documents or court lists
- for the tribunal to be private and not open to the public
- to attend the hearing by video link
Asking for a male or female judge
You can ask for a male or female judge if you think there are issues in your appeal that make it appropriate. The tribunal will decide if it can do this.
Make your request as soon as possible when your apply, and no later than 7 days before the hearing.
If you can not attend the hearing
You must attend the hearing yourself if you’re in the UK.
If you’re not in the UK, we can arrange for a representative to attend the hearing in your place.
You can only be represented at the hearing by a solicitor or regulated immigration adviser, your sponsor
can not act on your behalf.
Your sponsor can not represent you at the hearing, they can only be:
- told the tribunal’s decision
- given information over the phone
You must us aware if your sponsor will be attending the hearing in your place. Include the case reference number of your appeal.
Children at the hearing
You can not take children into the hearing room with you. If you need to bring them to the tribunal, you’ll need to bring someone to look after them.
If your appeal can not be resolved at the hearing
If your appeal is not held on its scheduled day for any reason (for example there is not a judge available) it’ll be ‘adjourned’ and rescheduled for another day.
Your hearing may also be adjourned as ‘part heard’ if there is not enough time to finish it, or it can not be resolved on the day, for example because more evidence is needed.
The tribunal will arrange another hearing with the same people present.
The Tribunal's decision
If you win your appeal
If the Upper Tribunal decides that a mistake was made it can:
- overrule the decision and make its own judgement
- order the First-tier Tribunal to hear the case again
The Home Office can appeal the decision of the tribunal.
If you lose your appeal
You may be able to appeal to a higher court if you think there was a legal mistake made by the tribunal.
If you’re refused permission
You can ask the relevant higher court for permission.
You must do this within:
- 28 days of being refused permission (England and Wales)
- 42 days of being refused permission (Scotland)
- 21 days of being refused permission (Northern Ireland)
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Why Choose
UK Immigration Solicitors?
We are professional Solicitors here to help you with your immigration needs
What is the benefit of using UK Immigration Solicitors?
Immigration rules are complex and subject to regular changes and revisions. This itself presents problems as it is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of and have complied with any changes to the routes, processes and evidence requirements.
Failure to meet strict rules is likely to result in the application being refused which, in turn, is likely have an emotional and financial strain on you and your family.
It is our job to ensure we are fully aware of the latest immigration rules, policies and procedures. We don’t leave matters to chance. Once you become a client of ours, we explain our strategy and tell you exactly how we propose to get you the right result. We will pinpoint the positives and negatives of your circumstances and explain where issues may arise and what would need to be done to fix them. We provide step by step guidance and advice throughout the entire process professionally. Our vast experience allows us to foresee problems before they arise and pro-actively adopt a strategic action plan.
Our legal fees are always agreed and fixed with you right at the beginning of your case, so you have complete peace of mind and control over the costs to ensure there are no restrictions or unpleasant surprises.
There are many online agencies, advisors and marketing companies who claim to be immigration experts but, provide very little expertise.
Let us be very clear here, if you are paying for someone just to fill in the forms for you, you should think about how you can put that money to better use and avoid gambling with your future by using inexperienced and ineffective companies.
We are a fully regulated nationwide, multi award winning law firm that specialises in immigration. Having more than 60 years of combined expertise and having handled more than 8,000 cases we have unrivalled experience and expertise to ensure you get the right result first time around – Don’t take our word for it though, check out our reviews to see why our clients trust us with their futures. We are rated 5* across the board and 98% of our clients have confirmed that they would recommend us to others.
We have illustrated our typical scope of service below so you can understand what we do for you as paid of our service:
- Our immigration specialists carry out a free detailed assessment with you to understand your circumstances and needs.
- The collated information is then reviewed by a senior immigration solicitor who will have no less than 8 years’ immigration experience.
- Based on the information collected, the senior solicitor will then confirm what your options are and will also confirm if we are able to help you.
- We will offer you an Agreed Fixed Fee quotation for us to handle your entire case until initial conclusion without obligation.
- If we have officially taken your instructions, we will create a client file for you and collect detailed initial information.
- We will then ensure you receive a personalised one-to-one legal consultation with a senior immigration solicitor who will take your full instructions by exploring your circumstances in detail and advise you on the best way to meet your objectives. The solicitor will explain the relevant legislations and provide you with advice on the steps that we would need to take to get a successful result.
- The senior solicitor who carried out your legal consultation will then send you detailed written legal advice explaining everything that needs to be done and which documents will be required as part of the process. We will tell you about any problem areas and formulate a strategy to overcome/mitigate these.
- We will carefully review any documents that you have provided in support of the application. These documents are then validated and formatted to ensure that they meet the UKVI specified evidence requirements. Where they do not, we will explain what needs to be done to address the issues.
- Where required, we will prepare any necessary written legal arguments or representations that are required to support your application and gain an approval. Often, we may be required to make discretionary submissions.
- We will complete a draft application and share this with you to ensure that all parties are happy with the representations that will be submitted to the Home Office.
- We advise you on what application processing routes are available. In some cases, there are fast track or premium processing routes available. We may be required to book a Home Office appointment on your behalf. Will also be able to confirm typical processing times for any processing centre in the world. We explain all options, routes and fees comprehensively allowing you to make the best choice.
- We lodge the application on your behalf using our secure authenticated processes. Whilst your application is pending, we continue to ensure you receive maximum legal protection and ensure that your rights and allowances are upheld throughout the processing stage. We ensure that you are aware of and remain compliant with the immigration rules and regulations during this period. We will also keep you updated on the progress of your matter.
- If any follow up work is required in response to any queries raised by the UKVI, we will also deal with these as part of the comprehensive service.
- We secure a decision on your matter and further advise you on the relevant implications of that decision. If required, we will also confirm if any secondary applications are required and brief you on the necessary process and procedure for those also.
Why should you use Immigration Solicitors to help me?
Here are just some of the reasons to choose us:
- We are the UK’s #1 Immigration Specialist Law Firm
- We are a fully SRA regulated law firm so you are working directly with our in house legal team
- No agencies, middlemen or outsourcing
- We have achieved 99% success rate across all application types
- We have a 24 hour helpline that operates 7 days a week – 365 days a year
- We have multiple offices across the UK but 90% of our clients are not required to visit in person
- We have more than 60 years combined immigration expertise
- Our team have handled more than 8,000 cases
- We offer a free initial assessment which will explain your options and check your eligibility for your chosen route
- We operate a 100% Agreed Fixed Fee model with all fees fixed and agreed before work is started
- 98% of our clients would recommend us to family & friends
- Our average rating is 4.6/5 across major review platforms (based on over 2000 reviews).
What is Free Needs Assessment?
The assessor will establish why you are calling and what you are looking for assistance with. The assessor will ask you a series of questions to determine your circumstances in relation to your objectives.
The assessment is 100% private and confidential. As we are a private law firm, we work with our clients to overturn Government decisions daily. We do not share any information with any third party.
Although the assessor will be a trained immigration specialist, they are not solicitors and therefore will not give you detailed legal advice or guidance.
If you want to establish what your options are and the best way forward for you, your assessor will collate the necessary information and then speak with one of the resident senior solicitors at the firm to determine what your options are, if and how we could assist and confirm whether we would be prepared to take your case. If we can assist, you will be provided with an Agreed Fixed Fee quotation which is a single legal fee to cover the firms cost of representation agreed from the outset and binding for all parties.
The free assessment is no obligation and you are merely given clarity on your position and options to move forward.
If you have a complex matter or require legal advice regarding a specific issue, you will most likely require a legal consultation.
This is a separate service and is chargeable at the prevailing rates.
Please note, UK Immigration Solicitors are a private law firm and are not part of the Government. We do not accept legal aid instructions. Although we are happy to assist genuine callers, we are not a directory service and sadly are unable to provide you with Government telephone numbers.
To get started you can either call us on 0203 384 4389 or complete the assessment form and one of the team will call you
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