Immigration Appeals & Tribunals

Appeals in the Immigration Tribunal

We will be able to advise whether or not you are able to challenge the decision in an Immigration Tribunal and what your prospects of success are likely to be based on the circumstance of your case.

We will provide you with an honest and frank assessment of the merits of pursuing an appeal.

In certain situations an appeal may only be used from a strategic point of view. Once the strategy has been achieved, we may advise that the appeal is not always the most effective way to proceed. You may be more likely to succeed by submitting a fresh application or considering a different immigration route/category altogether.

If your appeal is successful, the Home Office can appeal against the decision of the Tribunal. If they do not appeal, then they should implement the decision of the court; meaning your visa application should then be granted.

If your appeal is unsuccessful at first instance you might be able to challenge the decision further by making an application for permission to appeal. It will be necessary to argue that the decision of the judge was wrong because of a material error of law.

There are a number of deadlines and procedural requirements which must be complied with when making an appeal. Our solicitors have expertise in dealing with all of this.

Administrative Review

It is no longer possible to challenge all types of decisions by the Home Office in the Immigration Tribunal and the only option may be to ask the Home Office to reconsider the decision. For example, there is no right of appeal against applications for British citizenship. The process of asking for the Home Office to reconsider their decision is known as Administrative Review.

The Home Office will assess whether they made an error in their decision making process and if they find that an error was made then the process of Administrative Review enables the Home Office to rectify the mistake and, if the circumstances permit, grant the application. The process of Administrative Review can be complex and so you should immediately seek specialist advice.

Judicial Review

If you are not given a right of appeal in the UK and or your Administrative Review application is refused if may be possible to submit an application for Judicial Review. This is a process whereby the judiciary will scrutinise the Home Office’s decision to see whether an error of law was made. The process is time-consuming, complex and costly. You should immediately seek specialist advice if you are considering making an application for Judicial Review.