In this section
What we do
Making an appeal
An appeal (under section 103 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999) must be completed on a ‘Notice of Appeal’ form. The form must be completed in full, and in English. It must also be signed by you or your representative, and be returned to us. Your form must be received no later than 3 working days after the day on which you received the decision letter from the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA).
An adjudicator can deal with your appeal by oral hearing or by using written evidence (this is called a “paper case”).
The adjudicator may extend the time limit for receiving your Notice of Appeal if they consider that it is in the interests of justice to do so, and they are satisfied that you were prevented from complying with the time limit through circumstances beyond your control.
On the day the adjudicator receives your Notice of Appeal we will send a copy of it (and any supporting documents), to the Secretary of State by fax.
The Secretary of State must then send the “appeal bundle” to us by fax or by hand. The Secretary of State will also send a copy of the appeal bundle to you by fax or first class post .
The 'appeal bundle' contains copies of the form on which you made your claim for support, any supporting documentation attached to that form, the BIA decision letter and any other material relied on by the Secretary of State in reaching a decision.
The day after the Secretary of State sends the 'appeal bundle' to us is known as the “consideration day”. this is the day that we will set the date for determining your appeal.
If there is to be an oral hearing, we will inform both you and the Secretary of State of the date on which it will be held. An oral hearing will be held if it was requested in your Notice of Appeal, or if the adjudicator considers that an oral hearing is necessary for the appeal to be disposed of justly. In all other cases, the appeal may be determined without an oral hearing.
If there is to be an oral hearing it must be held, and the appeal determined, no later than 5 working days after 'consideration day'. In all other cases, the appeal must be determined on 'consideration day', or as soon as possible thereafter (but in any event no later than 5 working days after consideration day).
Determination of your appeal
When determining your appeal, we may take into account any matters we consider relevant to the appeal (including matters arising after the date on which the BIA decision was made).
Where an oral hearing is held the adjudicator will inform all persons present of their decision at the end of the hearing.
The hearing may proceed in the absence of you, your representative or the Secretary of State's representative. If you, your representative (if you have one) and the Secretary of State are absent at the conclusion of the hearing, the adjudicator will forward all parties a notice of their decision following the hearing.
The adjudicator will send a reasons statement to you and the Secretary of State within 3 working days of receiving your appeal decision. The “reasons statement” is a written statement, which sets out the reasons for the decision.
Withdrawal of BIA decision
If the Secretary of State withdraws the decision being appealed against, they must inform all parties immediately
If you withdraw your appeal, you must inform us and the Secretary of State immediately.
If either party elects to withdraw from the appeals process, the appeal is treated as 'at end'.
Further Information on your appeal
If you have any further supporting information concerning your appeal, please forward them to us and the BIA, as soon as possible. A certified translation of any papers should also be attached if they are not in English.
Examples of supporting information are: Letters and reports, including medical reports, or any receipts and invoices which support your case.
You can send in anything you consider to be relevant to your case. If you are not sure if something is relevant please send it to us anyway, and the adjudicator will decide whether or not it can be considered.
Please remember that you will need to bring the original documents with you to your hearing, even if you have already sent us copies.
Helping your appeal run smoothly
If you are attending an oral hearing then it is very important that you arrive on time. If you, or your representative, are late we may decide to hold the hearing in your absence. The adjudicator's decision is final and there is no further right of appeal, so it is most important that you arrive at your hearing in good time.
If you change your address or change your representative you must tell us this as soon as possible. You can contact us using the information held on the 'Contact Us' page.
When writing to the us about your appeal please remember to include your AST appeal number and the date of your hearing.
Miscellaneous
Invalid Appeals
Please note that, with immediate effect, any Notice of Appeal receieved that does not disclose the date of the decision under appeal, or attach a copy of the BIA decision letter, will be treated as invalid until such time as the error is rectified. We normally allow 7 days for corrections to be made.
Directions
The adjudicator may give directions on any matter arising in connection with your appeal if they consider it necessary to do so in the interests of justice.
