Specialist representation before the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) for human rights, asylum and protection appeals, EU Settlement Scheme cases and other appealable Home Office immigration decisions.
If the Home Office has refused an immigration, human rights or protection claim and the decision carries a right of appeal, the challenge will usually begin in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).
The First-tier Tribunal is independent of the Home Office. Its role is to determine immigration and asylum appeals falling within its jurisdiction by considering the applicable law, the Home Office decision, documentary evidence, witness evidence and legal submissions.
For many appellants, this is the first opportunity for their case to be considered by an independent judicial body rather than by the Home Office.
A Tribunal appeal should therefore be approached as formal legal proceedings, not simply as another immigration application.
At Knights & Shah Solicitors, we advise and represent individuals and families before the First-tier Tribunal. We can review the Home Office refusal, identify the issues that need to be determined, prepare evidence and witness statements, comply with Tribunal directions and prepare the case for hearing.
The objective is not to overwhelm the Tribunal with documents. It is to present a focused, properly evidenced and legally structured case answering the Home Office’s reasons for refusal.
The First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) hears appeals against certain Home Office immigration and asylum decisions.
It is part of HM Courts & Tribunals Service and operates independently of the Home Office.
An appeal will normally involve two parties:
The appellant – the person challenging the immigration decision.
The respondent – usually the Secretary of State for the Home Department.
The Tribunal Judge considers the evidence and arguments before deciding the appeal.
Depending on the circumstances, the appeal may be decided:
Current HMCTS guidance confirms that an appellant can request a hearing or ask for the appeal to be determined from the information and documents submitted. The Tribunal can itself decide that a hearing should take place even where one has not been requested.
Not every visa refusal can be appealed to the First-tier Tribunal.
This distinction is crucial.
An applicant must have a legal right of appeal. Current HMCTS guidance expressly states that a person can only appeal to the Tribunal if they have such a right, and the Home Office decision letter will usually confirm whether one exists.
Under the current statutory immigration appeals framework, First-tier Tribunal proceedings commonly arise from:
A refusal of an ordinary work, study or other visa does not automatically create a First-tier Tribunal appeal right.
In some cases the appropriate remedy may instead be Administrative Review, a fresh application or, where a public-law error arises and no adequate alternative remedy exists, Judicial Review.
This is why the decision letter should be analysed before proceedings are started.
Human rights claims form an important part of the First-tier Tribunal’s immigration jurisdiction.
Many cases involve Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects respect for private and family life.
Appeals may concern:
A human rights appeal requires more than demonstrating that a Home Office decision will make life difficult.
The evidence needs to address the relevant legal tests and the particular circumstances of the appellant and affected family members.
Where children are involved, evidence concerning their welfare, education, relationships, health, development and best interests may become particularly important.
A person whose asylum or protection claim has been refused may have a right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal.
These cases can involve exceptionally serious consequences.
The Tribunal may need to determine whether returning the appellant to another country would expose them to persecution or serious harm.
Issues may concern:
A Home Office asylum refusal will frequently contain detailed credibility findings.
A properly prepared appeal should therefore identify each material finding and determine what evidence is required to address it.
Simply repeating the asylum account without dealing with the Home Office’s objections can leave the central issues unanswered.
The First-tier Tribunal also determines certain appeals arising from the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) and related rights.
These cases may concern matters such as:
Current HMCTS guidance also confirms that in certain EUSS, frontier worker and S2 healthcare visitor cases, an appeal may be brought after an unsuccessful Administrative Review where the relevant decision provides an appeal right.
The precise appeal route should therefore be checked against the Home Office decision.
The deadlines are short.
As at August 2026, current HMCTS guidance states:
You generally have:
14 days
from the date you received the decision letter.
You generally have:
28 days
from the date you received the decision letter.
If the decision requires you to leave the UK before you can appeal, the current period is generally 28 days from the date you left the UK.
These deadlines should be taken seriously.
Waiting to gather every possible document before lodging an appeal can be a mistake if it causes the appeal deadline to be missed.
Potentially.
If an appeal is submitted after the applicable deadline, the appellant must explain why it is late.
The Tribunal then decides whether the appeal can nevertheless proceed.
A late appeal should therefore include a clear and evidenced explanation where possible.
Relevant circumstances may vary considerably and could include serious illness, problems receiving the Home Office decision or another reason explaining the delay.
A late appeal is not automatically accepted simply because the underlying immigration case is strong.
Where a deadline has already expired, legal advice should be obtained promptly rather than allowing further delay to accumulate.
For represented appellants, current HMCTS procedure requires solicitors and immigration advisers to submit appeals online using MyHMCTS.
The appeal process requires information concerning the appellant and the Home Office decision.
Once the appeal has been initiated, the Tribunal will manage the proceedings and issue directions concerning the next stages.
Those directions are important.
Tribunal proceedings operate to procedural deadlines. Failure to comply can cause difficulties and may affect the orderly preparation of the appeal.
At Knights & Shah Solicitors, we treat the appeal as a structured litigation process from the outset rather than waiting until shortly before the hearing to prepare the evidence.
Strong preparation begins with the Home Office refusal letter.
Before drafting witness evidence or collecting hundreds of documents, we would ordinarily identify:
What was the Home Office being asked to decide?
Which factual and legal findings are actually disputed?
Did the Home Office overlook evidence, misunderstand it or reject it?
The Tribunal needs to determine the appeal under the applicable legal framework.
Evidence should answer the disputed issues rather than merely increase the size of the bundle.
The appellant may not be the only relevant witness.
Potential inconsistencies or difficult evidence should be identified before the hearing.
This analysis allows the appeal to be built around the issues the Judge actually needs to decide.
Witness statements are often central to immigration appeals.
The appellant’s statement should provide their evidence clearly, chronologically where appropriate, and in their own account.
Depending upon the appeal, it might need to address:
Additional statements may be required from a spouse, partner, relatives, friends, employers or other relevant witnesses.
The purpose is not to produce identical statements from several people.
Each witness should provide evidence about matters within their own knowledge.
The evidence required depends upon the case.
A First-tier Tribunal appeal bundle may include:
The bundle should be organised logically.
A 300-page bundle containing the documents that matter can be considerably more useful than a 1,500-page bundle containing repetitive and irrelevant material.
The aim is to make the important evidence easy for the Tribunal to identify and understand.
Depending upon the type of appeal and the legal framework applying to it, evidence beyond the material originally considered by the Home Office may be relevant before the First-tier Tribunal.
However, the question is more complicated than simply asking whether “new evidence is allowed”.
Different statutory provisions can affect how evidence and new matters are dealt with.
For example, material raising a genuinely new matter can engage particular statutory requirements and may require the Secretary of State’s consent before the Tribunal can consider that new matter.
The evidence strategy should therefore be considered legally rather than assuming that anything can simply be added to the appeal.
A properly managed appeal involves substantial work before anyone enters the courtroom.
Depending upon the case, preparation can include:
The period before the hearing is often where the strength of the appeal is created.
Waiting until the hearing itself to explain significant inconsistencies or locate missing evidence creates unnecessary risk.
An oral appeal hearing is a judicial proceeding.
Depending upon the case, those present may include:
The appellant or other witnesses may give oral evidence.
They can be questioned by their own representative and cross-examined on behalf of the Home Office.
The Judge may also ask questions.
Legal representatives then make submissions explaining how the facts and evidence should be assessed under the relevant law.
The Judge ultimately decides the appeal independently.
Current HMCTS guidance states that hearings are ordinarily public, although a person can request a private hearing or video attendance where there is an appropriate reason. Special arrangements and adjustments, including interpreter or accessibility requirements, can also be requested.
An appellant can request an appeal to be determined:
with a hearing, or
without a hearing on the papers.
The appropriate option depends upon the case.
Where the dispute concerns credibility, family circumstances or other important factual evidence, the opportunity to give oral evidence may be particularly significant.
A paper determination may be suitable in other circumstances.
The decision should therefore be strategic rather than based solely upon cost or convenience.
The Tribunal also retains power to determine that a hearing should take place even if one was not originally requested.
Tribunal fees changed in July 2026.
As at August 2026, the current First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) appeal fees are:
| Appeal | Current Tribunal fee |
|---|---|
| Appeal determined without a hearing | £82 |
| Appeal determined at a hearing | £144 |
These increased from £80 and £140 respectively in July 2026.
There are circumstances in which an appellant may not have to pay the fee.
Current HMCTS guidance states that exemptions can apply, including for certain people receiving asylum support or legal aid and certain under-18s receiving local authority services. Help with fees may also be available depending upon income, savings and benefits.
Solicitors’ and advocacy fees are separate from the Tribunal fee.
Yes.
Where there are compelling circumstances, an appellant can request an urgent or expedited appeal.
Current HMCTS guidance confirms that an expedite request can be made at any point during the appeal process.
There is no separate fee for requesting expedition, although any applicable appeal fee must have been paid before the request will be reviewed.
The appellant should explain why the case needs to be heard urgently and provide evidence of compelling or compassionate grounds. A Judge then decides whether the appeal should be prioritised.
Evidence might include medical or hospital documentation where serious health circumstances create genuine urgency.
An expedite request should be supported by evidence, not merely an assertion that the appeal is important.
After considering the evidence and submissions, the First-tier Tribunal will determine whether the appeal should be allowed or dismissed.
A written decision should explain the Judge’s findings and reasons.
If the appeal is allowed, the consequences depend upon the nature of the case and decision.
It is important not to assume that winning an appeal necessarily means that a visa or immigration status will be physically issued immediately. Further Home Office action may sometimes be required to implement the Tribunal’s decision.
The decision should therefore be reviewed carefully once received.
A dismissed First-tier Tribunal appeal does not automatically mean the case can simply be reheard by another Judge.
An onward appeal concerns legal error.
A party wishing to challenge the First-tier Tribunal’s decision must ordinarily seek permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).
Current HMCTS guidance states that the proposed appeal must identify why the First-tier Tribunal decision was legally wrong—for example because the Tribunal:
For a person inside the UK, the current general deadline for asking the First-tier Tribunal for permission is 14 days after the date on the written reasons for the decision. Different time limits can apply in other circumstances.
The written determination should therefore be reviewed promptly.
If permission is obtained and the Upper Tribunal finds that the First-tier Tribunal made a material error of law, it can potentially:
Current HMCTS guidance confirms that the Upper Tribunal can make its own decision or require the First-tier Tribunal to rehear the case.
Recent 2026 Upper Tribunal decisions demonstrate this process in practice. In one June 2026 decision, the Upper Tribunal concluded that insufficiently clear First-tier Tribunal findings amounted to legal error and remitted the appeal for a fresh hearing with no findings preserved.
This is why the quality of the First-tier Tribunal’s reasoning, as well as the outcome itself, needs to be considered following an unsuccessful appeal.
Appeals can be weakened by avoidable procedural and evidential problems, including:
Premium Tribunal preparation is therefore not about producing the longest bundle.
It is about ensuring that every important refusal point has a coherent legal and evidential answer.
At Knights & Shah Solicitors, we represent individuals and families before the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).
We can assist with:
Our approach is to identify the decisive issues at the beginning of the case and prepare the evidence around those issues.
The question is not simply:
“What documents can we submit?”
It is:
“What does the Judge need to decide, what evidence proves our client’s case and how do we answer the Home Office’s reasons for refusal?”
If you require advice contact Knights & Shah Solicitors.
We provide clear, solicitor led advice, strategic case planning and robust court representation to protect our clients.
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