Seeking Refuge? - Rights of Women

If the Immigration Judge decides that you are not
entitled to protection in the UK, your appeal
against the UK Border Agency’s initial decision will
be dismissed. It is important to get legal advice as
soon as you are refused protection, as it may be
possible to challenge this decision.
Appeals against a decision
made by the Asylum and
Immigration Tribunal
It may be possible to appeal against, or challenge
the decision of an Immigration Judge. However,
this can only be done in certain circumstances,
such as if the Immigration Judge made an error
of law (a mistake about the law and how it
should be applied in your case).
If the Immigration Judge has made an error of
law, then your case can be reconsidered.
Reconsideration involves having a new hearing
about your case and why you should be given
protection in the UK, before a different
Immigration Judge(s) in the AIT.
There are also circumstances where it may be
possible to appeal a decision to the Court of
Appeal, or The Supreme Court.
The law on appealing determinations is complex.
If you are considering appealing a determination
you should seek legal advice from your legal
representative, or one of the organisations listed
below.
If you are unable to appeal against a decision to
refuse you protection to any other court, you have
exhausted (finished) your rights to appeal and you
become removable. For information about
removal, see Chapter 9.
Transfer of the Asylum and
Immigration Tribunal
The Government makes decisions in a number of
different areas of law that individuals may want to
appeal against. For example, a person who has
been refused welfare benefits or criminal injuries
compensation may want to appeal against that
decision to someone independent. If they do,
then the place that they can appeal to is the Firsttier
Tribunal. A tribunal is a type of court. The
main function of the First-tier Tribunal is to hear
appeals against decisions taken by the
Government in certain areas of law, including
welfare benefits, criminal injuries compensation
and asylum support law.
In 2009, the Government decided to transfer the
Asylum and Immigration Tribunal into the Tribunal
structure, so that it sits alongside the other
Tribunals. It is expected that this transfer will
happen sometime in 2010. This will mean that
sometime in 2010, appeals against decisions
taken by case-owners in the UK Border Agency
will be heard in the First-tier Tribunal.
The First-tier Tribunal is independent of the
Home Office and decisions in the tribunal will be
taken by judges. The rights of those who are
appealing against a decision taken by their caseowner
in the UK Border Agency will not be
affected by this change. However, the procedure
for applying for a reconsideration of a
determination will change, as an application for
an order for reconsideration will be made first to
the First-tier Tribunal and, if they refuse, to the
Upper Tribunal (rather than the Administrative
Court, as is the case now). The process for
judicially reviewing some types of decisions may
also be changed by the transfer of the AIT.
The law on appealing determinations is complex.
If you are considering appealing a determination
and you want to know more about whether or
not these changes affect you, you should seek
legal advice from your legal representative, or one
of the organisations listed below.
For more information about the First-tier
Tribunal and the types of decisions that
can be appealed against, visit:
www.tribunals.gov.uk
Things to remember
• A claim for asylum or some other form of
protection in the UK is decided initially by a
case-owner in the UK Border Agency. You
may be able to appeal against a decision to
refuse you protection, or to give you a form of
protection that is different to what you applied
for, to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal
(the AIT).
• Appealing against the decision of the UK
Border Agency to the AIT is complicated, as is
appealing against the decision of the AIT. It is
therefore important that throughout these
processes, you seek legal advice. If you do not
have a legal representative, you should contact
one of the support organisations listed below
for advice.
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