°Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï

You can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Asylum Support) if:

• you’ve applied for asylum support and been turned down
• you were claiming asylum support and it’s been stopped

The tribunal is independent of government. A judge will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision.

Help you can get

You may want to get help and advice before you appeal.

Contact the for free advice and legal representation if you have an appeal at the First-tier Tribunal (Asylum Support).

You can contact , and for advice and support - they may be able to find another organisation near to you.

You can also get other legal advice, including from a lawyer.

Download and fill in a ‘notice of appeal’ form. You must include:

• why you’re appealing (your ‘grounds of appeal’)
• a copy of the decision you’re appealing against
• any documents that help support your appeal
• why your appeal is late (if it is)
• whether you’d like your appeal to be decided with a hearing

Post or email the notice of appeal form to HM Courts and Tribunals Service. The contact details are on the form.

Call the helpline if you have any questions about completing the form. The helpline cannot give you legal advice.

You’ll normally find out within a week of sending the form:

• whether the tribunal will consider your case
• whether the tribunal needs more information, for example if your appeal was late

You’ll then be told whether you’ll have a hearing and when it will take place.

If you do not have a hearing, the judge will make a decision based on your appeal and the evidence you and the Home Office have supplied.

If you need to send more information

If the tribunal asks you to send more information, you may need to discuss this with a casework team.

Contact the Section 95 casework team if you’re an asylum seeker.

Contact the Section 4 casework team if you’ve been refused asylum.

Hearings may be held in person, via phone or video link.

You’ll be asked to:

• send some documents by post before your hearing takes place
• contact any witnesses that the tribunal wants to call up

If you, your witness or representative is outside the UK and wants to give live video or audio evidence, contact the tribunal to request it. Tell the tribunal what country you, the witness or representative is in and what type of evidence is being given. You must do this as soon as possible.

If your hearing is held in person

If a judge decides you have to go to a hearing in person, it will take place in London. The Home Office will pay for you to get there (usually by train). You’ll get free accommodation the night before if you have to travel a long distance.

At the hearing

You’ll present your case to the judge - someone else can do this for you, for example a lawyer, friend or family member. The Home Office might send someone to present the case against you.

The tribunal will provide you with an interpreter if you’ve asked for one. They can translate what happens during the tribunal but they cannot represent you or give you legal advice.

You may be asked questions by:

• your legal representative (if you have one)
• the Home Office’s representative (if they send one)
• the judge

The hearing is public. Family and friends can attend. If the hearing is in person, they’ll have to pay their own travel costs unless they are witnesses.

Children can only attend if you cannot make childcare arrangements and the judge agrees it’s appropriate. They can either:

• wait in the waiting room with your family or friends
• be with you during the hearing

You’ll get the decision either:

• at the hearing (if you have one), on paper or by email
• by email on the day the decision is made (if you do not have a hearing)

You will also get full written reasons for the decision within 3 days of getting the decision.

The judge will either:

• allow the appeal - this means you’ll either get asylum support, or carry on getting it
• turn down (‘dismiss’) your appeal - this means your asylum support will stop
• ask the Home Office to look at the decision again (known as ‘remitting’ the appeal) – you’ll usually continue to get asylum support while the decision is made

The judge’s decision is final - you cannot appeal again.

You cannot complain about the decision - you can only complain about the tribunal staff and the way the hearing took place.

Read the rules the tribunal must follow and its decisions on previous cases.

Previous decisions

Search the decisions database to see how and why previous decisions have been made.

Legislation

The tribunal will make a decision based on:

The tribunal must follow the rules and process in the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Social Entitlement Chamber) Rules 2008 and .

Failed asylum seekers

The tribunal will make a decision based on:

If asylum support was stopped while the application was being considered

The tribunal will make a decision based on: