IMMIGRATION APPEAL & JUDICIAL REVIEW

Our Immigration Solicitors and Barristers are able to advise individuals in the complex area of appeal rights, administrative review and judicial review, providing advice, guidance and representation throughout the immigration appeals process.

Immigration Right of Appeal

At present, in the UK there are rights of appeal against the following decisions:

Refusal of Human Rights Protection claims and revocation of protection status.
Refusal of a visa and refusal to vary leave to remain in some situations where the application was made before the Immigration Act 2014 was in force.
Refusal to issue European Economic Area Family Permits as well as certain other EA decisions where appeal rights are contained in Regulation 36 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016.
Deprivation of British citizenship where section 40A of the British Nationality Act 1981 applies.

Where there is no right of appeal it may be possible for a person to apply for Administrative Review of a refusal of an application if it can be proven that a case working error has occurred. If a case is lost in the First-Tier Tribunal we may be able to argue that the decision was legally wrong at the Upper-Tier Tribunal. For example, it may be possible that the Tribunal did not apply the correct law, wrongly interpreted the law, did not follow the correct procedure, or had insufficient evidence to support its decision. The applicant must ask the First-Tier Tribunal for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal. The deadline to ask the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal is 14 days after the date of the decision if you are inside the UK, and 28 days after the date of the decision if you are outside the UK.

Immigration Appeal Process

A Notice of Appeal must be received by the Tribunal no later than 14 calendar days after the decision letter was sent. This is increased to 28 calendar days if an application to appeal is being made from outside of the UK.

When completing the Notice of Appeal, the Grounds of Appeal must be identified. If the appeal is successful and the individual has been allowed to remain or enter the UK, the Home Office has permission to apply to appeal the decision within 14 calendar days. If the appeal is not successful, the individual can apply to the First-Tier Tribunal for permission to appeal to the Upper-Tier Tribunal or subsequently can apply directly to the Upper-Tier Tribunal for permission to appeal.

Immigration Judicial Review Process

Judicial review is the review of public authority decisions by the court. It enables such decisions to be challenged on the grounds of illegality, irrationality and unfairness. Judges will determine whether the way a decision was made was procedurally and legally correct, and not whether the conclusion is ‘right’ on the facts.

Judicial review is relevant to immigration law because immigration applications are decided by the Home Office on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Home Department. The Home Office is a public authority therefore all of its decisions are challengeable by way of immigration judicial review.

Where decisions do not attract a right of appeal or administrative review, as is the case with many types of immigration decisions, an applicant can challenge the decision by way of immigration judicial review provided that the challenge is on the grounds of illegality, irrationality or unfairness.

If a decision by the Home Office is found to be unlawful, unfair or irrational then the decision will not be re-made by the judge, it will go back to the Home Office for reconsideration.

Most immigration judicial reviews in immigration law cases are now heard in the Upper-Tier Tribunal but some types of cases, such as unlawful detention or statutory appeals, are still heard in the Administrative Division of the High Court of Justice.

Immigration Judicial Review is very complex and may not be suitable for all applicants. If you have any doubts about applying for the Immigration Judicial Review, please contact our expert immigration lawyers for expert advice.

Administrative Review Process

Administrative review is the review of an eligible decision to decide whether the decision is wrong due to a case working error. It is important to understand that this review is carried out by the Home Office and not an independent Tribunal or Court and is only reserved for particular decisions where there is no right an appeal.

Why Instruct OneLaw Chambers for your Court Hearing?

Our Immigration Solicitors and Barristers are expert in all aspects of immigration appeals and judicial review. We can offer help with advising and preparing suitable Grounds of appeal and supporting documents. We also can prepare your appeal bundle, including skeleton arguments and detailed witness statements. We also offer advocacy for one of our Immigration Solicitors and Barrister to represent you at your immigration appeal hearing and have significant experience dealing with appeals at the Immigration Tribunals.

We work directly with our clients, drawing on our many years of experience of preparing high quality immigration applications and representing successful administrative reviews, appeals and judicial reviews before the Immigration Courts and Tribunals.