Appealing against decisions
Most students and their family members no longer have the right of appeal against a Home Office refusal of their immigration application. In many cases they instead have the right to request that the Home Office carry out an administrative review of its own decision.
However, if a person who has the right of appeal chooses to exercise that right, the appeal is submitted to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). Cases are heard in many centres across the UK. Appellants can choose whether their appeal should be heard in person or decided on the papers only.
The next level of appeal, if the appellant or the Home Office is not happy with the outcome, is to the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) which hears cases in different towns and cities throughout the UK.
Appeals against decisions of the tribunals are made to the
- Court of Appeal (Civil Division) in England and Wales
- Court of Session in Scotland
- Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland.
Appeals from those courts are to the Supreme Court.
Decisions by the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, or the Court of Session in Scotland, are binding on other courts and tribunals, and on the Home Office. This means that the Home Office is required to act in accordance with the court's judgment in the individual's case and in the cases of other applicants. However, the Home Office also has the power to change the law for future cases.
