When the Home Office refuses any sort of immigration application, it must give reasons why. There are various ways to challenge the reasons and appeal against Home Office decisions depending on the type of application.
The most common way of disputing a Home Office refusal is to lodge an appeal in the Immigration Tribunal. The Immigration Tribunal is like a court.
If you have made an application for a member of your family to enter or stay with you in the UK and it has been refused, you can appeal. Or if your asylum claim has been refused, again you can appeal. If there are human rights involved, you have a right of appeal.
Sometimes an appeal would be a waste of time and money. Again we will advise you if we think this may be the case. We are honest and ethical. We do not take money from clients to make hopeless appeals, unless the client insists despite knowing the risk of failure.
There are refusals which are 'certified' by the Home Office, which means there is no right of appeal. This can happen if the Home Office believe you have made repeated applications with the same arguments and evidence. Your options will be restricted in this situation. You will need to take advice from experienced and trustworthy immigration lawyers.
Some types of application do not give you a right of appeal. We will advise you of this and set out alternative options. One option is Administrative Review.
This is available for certain applications from outside and within the UK. Again there are deadlines to apply for Administrative Review so you must act quickly.
Administrative Review is concerned with 'casework errors'. For example, if the Home Office has refused your application because a piece of evidence was not submitted, and yet it was submitted and you have the proof. Or if the decision maker has made an error calculating salary or the length of leave for example. If you successfully apply for Administrative Review, your application will be granted. This is generally a quicker and cheaper option than Appeals, but there are limitations to its use.
At Immigration Legal Services, we have been acting for clients at Appeals for many years. We offer a full service which means we lodge the appeal or review, and we thoroughly prepare your case so it is as strong as possible when it is heard in front of an immigration judge. This could involve the need to seek expert evidence and witness statements. We use the legislation and case law to back up our arguments.
One of our team will represent you at the Immigration Tribunal. We will be there on the day to advise and to be by your side during this difficult experience. This is because we know how important your immigration status is to you and your family so we ensure you are properly prepared and know what to expect on the day of the appeal hearing.
"Having now taken an appeal through to a successful conclusion for the (very reasonable) price promised, I have no hesitation in recommending this firm."
Jon Chrimes
We have an outstanding reputation for our appeal work, both in the preparation and our appearances in the Tribunal. Our lawyers fight every step of the way for our clients. That's why our success rate at Appeal is over 90%.
Some clients come to us when they have made an immigration application themselves and it has been refused. We will look at the refusal and advise whether the client can appeal. We also assess whether an Appeal has any chance of succeeding.
If you have made an application for a Visa to enter the UK and you have been refused, an Appeal can still be heard within the UK. Although you cannot appear at the Tribunal, we will represent you and work with you and your family to mount a strong Appeal.
Sometimes we discover that our Immigration Bail clients are eligible to apply for lawful immigration status in the UK. If that is the case, we can advise you.
Once a refusal is received, the clock starts ticking and an Appeal must be lodged within 14 days if the application has been made within the UK or 28 days if the appeal has been made from outside the UK. It is vitally important that the Appeal is lodged with the Immigration Tribunal in time. It is possible to deal with an Appeal which is lodged late; this simply adds another obstacle to the process and we avoid this whenever possible.
If the application was made outside the UK, there is a two stage process. First of all, a Home Office Entry Clearance Manager takes another look at the decision to refuse along with our detailed 'grounds of appeal'. They may overturn the decision at that point - which means that the Visa is granted. Or they may uphold the refusal decision. This means your case will go to a hearing at the Immigration Tribunal in front of an Immigration Judge.
Applications made in the UK go straight for a hearing at the Immigration Tribunal.
Once we have a date for the appeal hearing, we start to prepare. This involves gathering any new evidence, drafting legal arguments, taking witness statements and commissioning expert evidence if necessary.
We will keep in touch with you and we are here to answer any questions or worries you may have about making an appeal against Home Office decisions.
It depends. If there was insufficient evidence given to the Home Office, it may be better to simply make another visit visa application and supply better evidence. Appeals against Visit Visa refusals are only available if there are human rights issues involved. Come and see us to discuss the best option.
It is possible to appeal to the Upper Immigration Tribunal if there has been an error of law in the the lower Immigration Tribunal. This needs a careful examination of the Judge's decision. You need to take legal advice.
No. There is no appeal available for these applications. However, you can ask for an Administrative Review if you believe there has been a casework or administrative error in your application.
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