Seeking Refuge? - Rights of Women

10
Fresh claims
Introduction
A fresh claim is a new claim for protection in the
UK made by someone who has already made a
claim for protection in the past that has been finally
refused. In this section we will explain what a fresh
claim is and when a fresh claim can be made.
The law discussed here is very complicated.
This Chapter is written to give you information
about the law, but it is not legal advice. If you
have applied for protection in the UK, or are
thinking about doing this, it is very important
that you seek legal advice from a solicitor or
immigration advisor. You can also contact
Rights of Women’s legal advice line. See
Chapter 12 at the end of this book for
information about organisations that provide
legal advice.
What is a fresh claim?
A fresh claim is a new claim for protection in the UK
made by someone who has already made a claim in
the past that has been finally refused.
Your claim will have been finally refused if you have
exhausted your rights to appeal against it. This
means that you cannot appeal against the decision
any further.
If you have been given a decision that you do not
agree with and you are appealing against it, you are
still an asylum-seeker, and so cannot make a fresh
claim for protection. If you have new information
on your case and are appealing against a negative
decision, you should tell your solicitor or
immigration representative about it or seek legal
advice about whether the information should be
included in your appeal.
In order to have a fresh claim, you have to have
arguments or information that are significantly
different from what has been considered in the
past. This information will only be significantly
different if it:
• has not already been considered; and
• taken together with your previous asylum claim,
creates a realistic prospect of success.
This means that you cannot make a fresh claim that
is based on information in your previous asylum
claim. You need to have information that is new,
and that has not already been considered by your
case owner or an Immigration Judge.
The law that determines what is a fresh
claim for asylum is set out in paragraph
353 of the Immigration Rules, which you
can find here:
www.ukba.homeoffice.gov. uk/policyand
law/immigrationlaw/immigrationrules/
part12/
What happens if I don’t have
any new information? Further
representations
If your claim has been finally refused and you do
not have any new information about your situation,
you can still make further representations to the UK
Border Agency 29 . Further representations are
arguments or submissions that are made to the UK
Border Agency, and which are based on the
information that was given in the claim for
protection that has been refused.
In the further representations, your solicitor or
immigration advisor may repeat information in your
claim, highlight any particular compassionate
circumstances in your case and request that you are
granted protection in the UK.
One difference between a fresh claim and further
representations is that a fresh claim contains new
information that has not been considered by either
the UK Border Agency or an Immigration Judge,
where further representations do not. Another
difference is that if your claim is accepted as a fresh
claim, the UK Border Agency will have to make a
new decision on your case and, if they refuse to
29
It used to be called the Border and Immigration Agency (the BIA) and before that the Immigration and Nationality Directorate
(the IND).
61