A Breakdown of the UK Immigration Appeal Process

Immigration appeals are a result of denied applications, which is why they’re usually a source of stress and heartache for the applicant and their families.

The UK immigration appeals process can be long and confusing for applicants with limited knowledge of how it works.

Here’s a breakdown of the UK immigration appeals process:

Assess the Reasons

Your immigration lawyer will assess the reasons your application was rejected; these are provided by a letter from the Home Office. After looking at the reasons, your lawyer will discuss whether there are alternate ways to respond to the appeal. In some cases, as administrative review or a new application will suffice. If your lawyer decides that an immigration appeal is the best option for you, then that’s what you should do.

Lodge the Appeal

After receiving the rejection letter, you have a limited number of days to lodge an appeal officially; 10 days if you’re in the UK and 28 days if you’re outside the UK.

Lodging an appeal involves filling out and sending a form, which states the grounds of your appeal. These MUST be written by an immigration lawyer or adviser and cannot be changed afterwards. Your immigration lawyer will also decide whether or not a court hearing can help your case.

Automatic Review Process

Once you’ve lodged an official appeal, the Home Office begins the automatic review process, this is where they decide whether your case should be taken to a senior decision-making officer.

If the original application took place from outside the country, the automatic review process can take up 19 weeks, if not longer. The process is long and excruciating for people outside the country who’re looking for a better life in the UK, but unfortunately, there’s no way to speed it up.

If the original application was lodged in the UK, the review process only takes 4–8 weeks.

During the review stage, if the senior officer decides to reverse the initial decision, the immigration permission requested will then be granted—sadly, this rarely happens.

A majority of applicants will have to go for a full appeal. Usually, the original decision is upheld, and the case will have to be taken to court for a hearing. At this point, all the papers will be sent to the immigration court and assigned to a judge.

Hearing Dates

A letter will be sent to the applicant, informing them of the hearing date. The length of time from the initial rejection to the hearing date depends on the unit overlooking the case; it usually takes 30 weeks.

Tribunal

In a hearing, your lawyers and witnesses will attend a Tribunal on the date given by the court; the applicant will also be there if they are in the UK or if they can get an entry clearance as a visitor. The judge will send out the result of the hearing 4 weeks after the Tribunal.

Judge’s Verdict

When the appeal is successful, the judge’s verdict is sent to the Home Office and they will issue permission. If the appeal is rejected, the applicant has the option of asking for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal; this usually is granted if the judge’s decision doesn’t agree with the law.

The appeals process is undoubtedly long and gruelling—especially for those who aren’t in the UK and who can’t defend themselves in the hearing. When the applicant is present in the UK, they can have face difficulties when appealing to the court when their passport is being held by the Home Office.

For people staying in the UK and waiting for their immigration papers to come through, the appeals process must be handled correctly, which is why it’s so important to have a competent immigration lawyer.

Wembley Solicitors has a team of immigration lawyers that are experts in immigration appeals. If you’re located in London and need legal support on with your own or a loved one’s immigration to the UK, contact us at 020-341-737-00.