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UK: Steep Rise for Immigration Appeal Fees
September 23, 2016
The UK Government has decided to table an enormous hike in Immigration Appeal fees, with the added justification that the Immigration Tribunal should be completely funded by the fee paying litigant.
The UK Government issued a statement that reads;
“We, therefore, propose increasing fees in the First-tier Tribunal from £80 to £490 for an application for a decision on the papers and from £140 to £800 for an application for an oral hearing. We also propose introducing a new fee of £455 for an application to the First-tier Tribunal for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal.
We also believe that the same principles should apply to appeals to the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) so the consultation also seeks views on introducing fees, set at full cost recovery levels, for these proceedings. The consultation proposes a fee of £350 for an application to the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal, where permission has been refused by the First-tier Tribunal, and a fee of £510 for an appeal hearing where permission is granted”.
The hike means Appeal fees going from:
- £140 to £800 for a First-tier Tribunal oral hearing.
- £80 to £490 for an “on the papers” hearing, with no lawyers or witnesses
Appellants are likely to be deterred from lodging appeals.
There will exemptions:
- Legal aid or asylum support
- Those being affected by a decision to strip them of their UK citizenship
- Children lodging appeals to the tribunal who are being supported by a local authority
- The Government proposes to model waivers, based on proving that the applicant is destitute
If the appeal succeeds, there will be an obligation on the Home Office to reimburse the corresponding appeal fee.
In the light of the above, we urge potential immigration applicants to seek legal advice before submitting their application, in order to minimize the risk of a refusal by the Home Office;
For more advice on the above, please contact our UK Immigration team at [email protected].
