Unsuccessful applications, appeals and other challenges

If the Home Office has refused your application based on your private and family life, this will usually have a ‘right of appeal’. This will be stated in your decision letter from the Home Office. This is because these applications are considered to be human rights applications.

A ‘right of appeal’ means you can challenge the Home Office’s decision in front of an independent judge. These cases are heard in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).

You will only have 14 days to submit your appeal to the tribunal, which starts from the date on which the Home Office sends you the letter.

This date is sometimes different from the date of the letter. You should check if the Home Office has given you a ‘date of service’, usually stated at the end of the letter. If provided, you should count 14 days from this ‘date of service’. If not, check the dated postmark on your envelope and count from this date. You should keep this envelope as evidence of when the Home Office sent you the decision.

It is highly advisable that you seek legal advice to assist you with any appeal, but it is important that you do not miss your deadline for appealing. If you challenge a Home Office decision after more than 14 days, your case may not be heard in the tribunal if you do not have a good reason for missing the deadline. You may have to start the Home Office application process again in a potentially weaker situation.

Find a local immigration lawyer via the Law Society or Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association.

Please visit gov.uk for more information about appealing a refusal decision. Please also see Right to Remain's website for information on what you will need for your appeal.

This video by Right to Remain also explains the asylum and immigration appeals process.

If the Home Office has refused your asylum claim, this will usually have a ‘right of appeal’. This will be stated in your decision letter from the Home Office.

A ‘right of appeal’ means you can challenge the Home Office’s decision in front of an independent judge. These cases are heard in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).

However, some asylum claims do not have a ‘right of appeal’ if they are refused. Check your decision letter from the Home Office carefully. This could happen if the Home Office has declared your asylum claim is ‘inadmissible’, or it has been certified as ‘clearly unfounded’. If you are in this situation, you may be able to get legal aid, and it is recommended that you seek advice from a qualified immigration lawyer. Find a local legal aid lawyer. Please also read our sections below.

If you have a ‘right of appeal’, you will only have 14 days to submit your appeal to the tribunal. This time starts from the date on which the Home Office sends you the letter.

This date is sometimes different from the date of the letter. You should check if the Home Office has given you a ‘date of service’, usually stated at the end of the letter. If provided, you should count 14 days from this ‘date of service’. If not, check the dated postmark on your envelope and count from this date. You should keep this envelope as evidence of when the Home Office sent you the decision.

It is highly advisable that you seek legal advice to assist you with any appeal, but it is important that you do not miss your deadline for appealing. If you challenge a Home Office decision after more than 14 days, your case may not be heard in the tribunal if you do not have a good reason for missing the deadline. You may have to start the Home Office application process again in a potentially weaker situation.

Legal aid may be available for you. You can also find a local immigration lawyer via the Law Society or Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association.

Please visit gov.uk for more information about appealing a refusal decision. Please also visit Right to Remain's website for information on what you will need for your appeal. 

This video by Right to Remain also explains the asylum and immigration appeals process.

Some applications will only have a right of appeal if you leave the UK. In this case, the timeframe to submit your appeal only starts once you have left. The details will be in your decision letter.

It may be possible to challenge this and obtain a right of appeal without leaving the UK, speak to a lawyer to discuss your options. Find a local legal aid lawyer.

Some applications do not have right of appeal. For example, applications under the Hong Kong BN(O) route; or applications to switch into a visa category for work or study.

For these applications, you will be given the right of administrative review. This process is carried out by the Home Office. You must request this within 14 days, and an £80 fee is payable.

If you have no right of appeal, and no right to administrative review, your only way to challenge a decision is via a procedure in the higher courts, known as a ‘judicial review’. This could happen if you made a fresh asylum claim which has been refused and certified, or your application for asylum has been declared inadmissible.
 
A ‘judicial review’ is a very complex process that requires legal advice and representation. It means asking the court to find that the Home Office’s decision was incorrect in law. There is legal aid available for judicial review applications, even for human rights cases that were not initially covered by legal aid. Find a local legal aid lawyer.

This Right to Remain video explains the judicial review process.

If your application is unsuccessful, it means the Home Office has refused your permission to stay in the UK. If you do not challenge this negative decision, you may become undocumented and be considered an ‘overstayer’. This means you have stayed in the UK after your status has expired.

You may already be undocumented or an ‘overstayer’. This could happen if the Home Office refused an initial application for status and you did not challenge this negative decision.

‘Overstayers’ and undocumented people are vulnerable to immigration enforcement action. For more information see our page on Detention and deportation.

There are some circumstances in which people whose applications were unsuccessful are entitled to support.

You can apply for accommodation and/or subsistence payments from the Home Office if:

You are waiting for a decision on your asylum application

If you are currently waiting for a decision on your asylum application, you can apply for section 95 support.

This covers accommodation and a weekly allowance of £49.18. The weekly allowance will be provided via a payment card, which you can use at shops or withdraw the money from a cashpoint.

To apply for asylum support you can contact Migrant Help on 0808 8010 503.

You had an unsuccessful asylum application

If your application for asylum was unsuccessful, you may be able to apply for section 4 support. This is like section 95 support, where you receive accommodation and a weekly allowance of £49.18 on a payment card.

To apply for asylum support you can contact Migrant Help on 0808 8010 503.

You have no immigration status in the UK

If you have no immigration status in the UK, you can apply for accommodation and support under Schedule 10. You would need to make an application to the Home Office for this support, usually on the Bail 409 form.

This type of support is for people who have never applied for asylum and who are not waiting for a decision about an asylum claim. More information on Schedule 10 is available on the NRPF Network website.

If your Section 10 application is refused, you can challenge this decision through a judicial review. Find more about the judicial review process in the section above, titled Can all unsuccessful applications be challenged?.

If your application for asylum support is refused, you have the right to challenge the Home Office’s decision. To do this, you need to submit an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Asylum Support) Chamber.

You must submit your appeal to the tribunal within three days of receiving the letter about the decision.

If you need help with your asylum appeal, you can contact the Asylum Support Appeal Project.