Forms & Guidance

Notice of Appeal form

Download the Notice of appeal form (171kb)

Guidance Notes

If you have further information that you would like the adjudicators to consider when determining your appeal, you should send your completed Notice of Appeal form to us together with copies of any supporting documents.

Please ensure that you complete all sections of the form in as much detail as possible.

If you have requested an oral hearing it is in your best interests to attend.

You must include your grounds of appeal in section five, or your appeal may be considered invalid.

the Migrant Helpline may be able to assist you in completing this form. You can contact them at:

Migrant Helpline
45 Friends Road
Croydon
Surrey
CR0 1ED

Phone 020 8774 0002

There may be a local office near you.

Where to return your completed form

Return your completed Notice of appeal form to:

Asylum Support Tribunal
Christopher Wren House
113 High Street
Croydon
CR0 1QG

You can also return your form by fax.

Fax 020 8588 2519

If you wish to discuss any aspect of the appeal proces please call our freephone number on 0800 389 7913 (Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm).

Reception area at Christopher Wren House

Your Appeal

When we receive your Notice of Appeal form, we will make sure that you have completed it correctly. Your completed form must be:

in English
signed by you
sent with a copy of the Border and Immigration Agency's (BIA) letter that refuses or stops your support and
delivered to us within the time limits set down by the law.

If you have not completed the form correctly it will be deemed invalid. This means that we cannot deal with your appeal until you have sent us a form you have filled in properly (within the timescale specified).

After we have checked your form we will:

create a file for your appeal and note it on our computer system
give your appeal a number (beginning with ‘AST’) which you must quote whenever you contact us; and
tell the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) that you have made an appeal and ask them to send us a copy of any documents they used to arrive at their decision.

An adjudicator will look at your case and may ask you or the BIA for more information. If you have a representative, we will send a copy of their questions to them.

If you have asked for an oral appeal hearing, we will send you a ‘hearing notice’. This will tell you where and when your appeal will take place. We will also send you a copy of the ‘hearing notice’ to your representative, if you have one.

Please let us know on your Notice of Appeal form if you need an interpreter, and the language or dialect you require. We will then provide an independent interpreter for your hearing.

We will send you:

information about the Asylum Support Tribunal (AST), how to get to the hearing centre and the services you will find there
an explanation of some of the phrases and words we use and
a leaflet called ‘Having your say’ which explains how you can make a complaint if you are not happy with our services.

Please let us know in advance of any disabilities or special needs you may have so that we can try to accommodate your needs.

Arriving at your hearing

When you arrive at the AST hearing centre, similarly to airports and other large public buildings, we will ask you to walk through a scanning device. The staff in the reception will ask you to leave any items such as mobile phones, cigarette lighters, etc with them until your hearing has finished.

The reception area has copies of various leaflets in a selection of languages (i.e. "A Guide to the Appeal Centre at Christopher Wren House" and the "Meaning of Words") and a stock of customer service questionnaire forms.

Our aim is to make the AST reception area as welcoming as possible. The reception area includes a public telephone, tables and chairs, customer notice board, a water cooler and baby changing facilities. A quiet room for prayer and two consultation rooms are also available. Please note that the hearing centre has very few facilities for young children so, where possible, we would advise that they do not accompany you to your hearing..

When the hearing is ready to proceed, the usher will ask you (and your representative if you have one) to make your way to the hearing room on the first floor. You, the interpreter and the BIA representative will be asked to gather in the corridor outside the hearing room until the adjudicator is ready to begin.

If you bring a friend with you to your hearing, he or she may sit at the back of the hearing room but may not take part in the proceedings. If you wish someone to act as a witness for you, they must remain in the waiting room until they are called. The usher will then accompany them to the hearing room. Please let us know if you intend to call anyone as a witness, so that we can make the necessary arrangements.

At your hearing

During your hearing the presenting officer will explain the BIA's decision. You will be given the opportunity to put your views across to the panel, who may ask you some questions. If you have requested an interpreter, questions will be put to you through them. .

When the hearing is finished, you may be asked to return to the waiting room while the adjudicator considers your appeal. As soon as the adjudicator is ready, you will be asked to return to the hearing room where the adjudicator will advise you of their decision.

The adjudicator may decide to allow your appeal, dismiss it or remit the case to the Secretary of State for reconsideration.

You will be given a written notice of the decision as you leave the hearing room. A full, detailed explanation (a Reasons Statement) will be sent to you within three days. We will also arrange for this to be translated into your preferred language, if required. This will be sent to you a few days after your hearing, so you will be asked to complete a current address form at your hearing.

After your hearing, please remember to collect any belongings from the reception on the ground floor before leaving the building.

Paper cases

If you have not requested an oral hearing, a decision can still be made on your appeal, normally within five days of having received the papers from BIA. Again, further information may be requested from you or BIA.

A copy of this request will also be sent to your representative, if you have one. After the adjudicator has considered your appeal we will send you a detailed explanation of our decision. We will also, where required, arrange for this to be translated into your preferred language.