Your Asylum claim has been refused

What Happens Next?

A Free Guide from Migrant Law Partnership

Important: This guide is free information to help you understand the asylum appeals process. It is not legal advice. Every case is different, and this guide cannot replace a qualified immigration lawyer. If you can get legal representation, you should.

Migrant Law Partnership is a not-for-profit immigration law firm. After 13 years representing asylum seekers under Legal Aid, we now handle privately funded immigration cases only. We do not provide Legal Aid asylum representation, but Legal Aid is available for asylum appeals — see Section 9 of this guide for how to find a Legal Aid solicitor.

This guide is for people who have received a refusal of their asylum claim and want to understand what happens next. It is the companion to our Guide 1: Making an Asylum Claim in the UK.

We are grateful to Right to Remain whose Toolkit is an invaluable free resource. We link to it throughout this guide and encourage you to use it alongside ours.

What This Guide Covers

• 1.  You Have Been Refused — Read Your Letter Carefully
• 2.  Do You Have the Right to Appeal?
• 3.  The 14-Day Deadline — Do Not Miss It
• 4.  What Happens After You Submit Your Appeal?
• 5.  Understanding Why Your Claim Was Refused
• 6.  Preparing Your Case for the Tribunal
• 7.  The Appeal Hearing — What Happens on the Day
• 8.  After the Hearing — What Happens Next
• 9.  If You Lose Your Appeal — What Are Your Options?
• 10.  Your Support and Accommodation During the Appeal
• 11.  When You Must Get a Lawyer
• 12.  Where to Get Help

1.  You Have Been Refused — Read Your Letter Carefully

Receiving a refusal letter is frightening. But a refusal does not necessarily mean your case is over.

Your Reasons for Refusal Letter

The Home Office will send you a document called a Reasons for Refusal Letter (sometimes called an RFRL). This is the most important document in your appeal. Read it very carefully — ideally with someone who can help you understand it.

The refusal letter will tell you:

• Why the Home Office refused your claim
• Which parts of your account they did not believe
• What evidence they considered
• Whether you have a right of appeal
• Your deadline for appealing

Keep this letter safe. You will need it for your appeal. If you have a solicitor, contact them immediately. If you do not have a solicitor, read Section 12 of this guide for where to find help — but do not wait for a lawyer before reading the deadline information in Section 3.

What the Home Office Is Actually Saying

Refusal letters can be long, confusing, and sometimes feel unfair. But buried inside the legal language, the Home Office is usually saying one or more of these things:

• “We don’t believe you” — They have found inconsistencies in your account or think your story is not credible
• “What happened to you is not persecution” — They accept something happened but say it does not reach the level of persecution
• “You are not being persecuted for a Convention reason” — They say the harm you face is not because of your race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or social group
• “The authorities in your country can protect you” — They say the police or government in your country would help you if you asked (State Protection)
• “You could move to another part of your country” — They say you could live safely somewhere else in your country (Internal Relocation)
• “You are excluded from protection” — In rare cases, they say you have done something that disqualifies you from refugee protection

Understanding which of these reasons applies to you is the foundation of your appeal. If you have not already read the section in our Guide 1 on the three critical reasons claims fail, read it now — it explains the concepts of state protection, internal relocation, and non-state persecution in plain language.

2.  Do You Have the Right to Appeal?

Most Asylum Refusals Carry a Right of Appeal

If your asylum claim has been refused, you will usually have the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). This is an independent court — the judge does not work for the Home Office.

Your refusal letter should clearly state whether you have a right of appeal.

When You Do Not Have a Right to Appeal (“Certified” Claims)

In some cases, the Home Office will “certify” your claim. This means they are saying your claim is clearly unfounded — that it has no realistic prospect of success.

If your claim is certified (your letter may mention “section 94”), you usually cannot appeal from inside the UK. This does not mean there is nothing you can do, but you need urgent legal advice. The only option may be a Judicial Review — a different type of legal challenge that looks at whether the Home Office’s decision to certify was lawful, not whether your asylum claim should succeed.

If your claim has been certified, finding a lawyer immediately is critical. See Section 12.

Right to Remain Guidance

Right to Remain has detailed information on understanding your refusal decision: righttoremain.org.uk/toolkit/decision

3.  The 14-Day Deadline — Do Not Miss It

This Is the Most Important Deadline in Your Case

If you are in the UK, you have 14 calendar days from the date you received your refusal letter to submit your appeal. If you are outside the UK, you usually have 28 days. This is not a guideline. This is a hard deadline. If you miss it, you may lose your right to appeal entirely.

What If You Don’t Have a Lawyer Yet?

Submit your appeal anyway. You do not need a lawyer to submit the appeal form. You can find a lawyer afterwards. A basic appeal submitted on time is infinitely better than a perfect appeal submitted one day late.

How to Submit Your Appeal

You can submit your appeal online through the HM Courts and Tribunals Service (MyHMCTS). Right to Remain has an excellent step-by-step guide: righttoremain.org.uk/toolkit/appeals

You will need:

• Your Home Office reference number
• Your refusal letter
• A brief explanation of why you think the Home Office decision is wrong (your “grounds of appeal”) — this does not need to be legally perfect at this stage, but you should say clearly that you disagree with the decision and why

The Tribunal Fee

There is currently a fee to lodge an appeal at the First-tier Tribunal. However, if you are receiving Section 95 asylum support, you are exempt from this fee. Include a copy of your Section 95 support letter when you submit your appeal.

What to Write in Your Grounds of Appeal

If you are submitting the appeal yourself without a lawyer, keep it simple at this stage. You can say:

• “I disagree with the Home Office decision to refuse my asylum claim”
• Briefly explain why — for example: “The Home Office said I could get protection from the police in my country, but I reported to the police three times and they did nothing”
• “I will provide further evidence and detailed grounds of appeal”

Your lawyer (if you find one later) can submit more detailed grounds. The important thing now is to get the form in on time.

4.  What Happens After You Submit Your Appeal?

The Tribunal Process

After you submit your appeal, the following happens:

The Home Office prepares its case. The Home Office has 14 days to send its evidence bundle to the Tribunal. This bundle includes your asylum interview transcript, the refusal letter, and any documents the Home Office relied on. In practice, the Home Office frequently submits this late — sometimes months late. This is frustrating but common.

You prepare your case. After the Home Office submits its bundle, you usually have 28 days to submit your evidence. This is your opportunity to provide everything that supports your case — witness statements, medical reports, country evidence, expert reports, and a detailed appeal statement explaining why the Home Office was wrong.

The Tribunal lists your hearing. The Tribunal will set a date for your appeal hearing. Current waiting times for asylum appeals average around 12 months from submission to hearing, though this varies. You will receive a “Notice of Hearing” telling you the date, time, and location of your hearing.

Case management hearings. The Tribunal may also schedule a case management hearing before the main hearing to deal with administrative or procedural issues. This is not your full appeal hearing.

How Long Will This Take?

Honestly, asylum appeals take a long time. The average waiting time is currently around 53 weeks from lodging the appeal to receiving a decision. Some cases are quicker; complex cases can take longer.

This wait is difficult. Use the time to build the strongest possible case.

5.  Understanding Why Your Claim Was Refused

This section is the key to your appeal. To win, you need to understand exactly why you were refused and directly address those reasons with evidence.

“We Don’t Believe You” (Credibility)

This is the most common reason for refusal. The Home Office will point to inconsistencies in your account, things you said differently at your screening interview and your substantive interview, facts they say do not add up, or aspects of your story they find implausible.

What you need to do:

• Go through every credibility finding in the refusal letter, one by one
• For each point, explain why the Home Office is wrong — perhaps you were confused, traumatised, misinterpreted by the interpreter, or the Home Office has misunderstood what you said
• Provide supporting evidence where possible — medical evidence of trauma, letters from people who can confirm your account, country information that explains why your story is plausible
• If you made a genuine mistake in your interview, explain it honestly. Everyone’s memory is imperfect, especially under stress or when recounting traumatic events

Important: The Home Office sometimes applies an unrealistic standard to memory and consistency. Research shows that trauma significantly affects memory — details may be recalled differently on different occasions without any dishonesty involved. If you have experienced torture or serious trauma, a medical report from the Helen Bamber Foundation or Freedom from Torture can be powerful evidence that explains why your account may appear inconsistent.

“The Police Can Protect You” (State Protection)

If the person who harmed you or threatened you is not the government itself — for example, a family member, a gang, a criminal group, or a private individual — the Home Office may say you should have asked the police for help.

What you need to do:

• Explain in detail whether you reported to the police and what happened
• If you did report, provide evidence of what happened afterwards — did they investigate? Were your persecutors arrested? Or did the police do nothing?
• If you did not report, explain why — were you afraid of the police? Are the police corrupt or connected to your persecutors? Would reporting put you in greater danger?
• Provide country evidence showing that the police in your country do not effectively protect people in your situation — reports from the Home Office’s own Country Policy and Information Notes, the US State Department, UNHCR, or credible human rights organisations

The legal test is not whether the police are perfect, but whether there is a “sufficiency of protection” — meaning protection that is accessible, effective, and available to you personally. General evidence that your country has a police force is not enough. You need to show why that protection would not work for you.

“You Can Move Somewhere Else” (Internal Relocation)

The Home Office may accept that you face a threat in your home area but say you could safely move to another part of your country.

What you need to do:

• Explain why your persecutor could find you anywhere in your country — do they have connections, resources, or influence across the country?
• Explain why the persecution would follow you — is it based on a characteristic (your ethnicity, religion, sexuality, political activity) that you cannot change or hide wherever you go?
• Show why relocating would be unreasonably harsh — consider your age, health, gender, whether you have family support elsewhere, whether you can support yourself, and whether you would face serious hardship

The legal test has two parts: first, would you be safe from persecution in the new area? Second, is it reasonable to expect you to relocate there? Even if you would be physically safe, relocation may be unreasonable if you would face destitution, have no support network, or face serious hardship.

“What Happened Is Not Persecution”

The Home Office may accept that something happened to you but say it does not amount to persecution. Perhaps they call it discrimination, harassment, or a personal dispute rather than persecution.

What you need to do:

• Explain the severity of what happened — persecution means serious harm, not just unpleasant treatment
• Show that the harm is systematic or sustained, not a single isolated incident (though a single very serious incident can amount to persecution)
• Provide evidence of the cumulative effect if you have suffered multiple incidents
• Use country evidence to show that what happened to you is part of a wider pattern of persecution of people like you

“It Is Not for a Convention Reason”

The Home Office may accept that you face harm but say it is not because of your race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership of a particular social group. For example, they may say it is a purely personal dispute, a criminal matter, or general violence that affects everyone.

What you need to do:

• Explain clearly the connection between the harm you face and a Convention reason
• “Particular social group” is the broadest category and covers many situations — women at risk of domestic violence in certain countries, LGBTQ+ people, former gang members in some circumstances, people with certain medical conditions
• Provide country evidence showing that people in your category are targeted or treated differently

6.  Preparing Your Case for the Tribunal

Your Appeal Bundle

You will need to prepare a bundle of documents for the Tribunal. If you have a lawyer, they will do this for you. If you are representing yourself, you need to prepare it yourself.

Your witness statement (or appeal statement)

This is the most important document you will prepare. It is your opportunity to tell the judge your full story, respond to every point in the refusal letter, and explain why you need protection. Write it clearly, in chronological order, and address every single reason the Home Office gave for refusing your claim. Do not assume the judge knows anything about your case beyond what is in the papers.

Supporting evidence

This might include:

• Medical evidence — from your GP, from a specialist (such as the Helen Bamber Foundation or Freedom from Torture if you have experienced torture), or from a psychologist who can explain how trauma has affected you
• Country evidence — expert reports, Home Office Country Policy and Information Notes (CPINs), reports from UNHCR, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the US State Department, and other credible organisations. This evidence should show conditions in your country for people in your situation
• Letters from people who know you — friends, community members, religious leaders, support workers — who can confirm aspects of your account or speak to your character
• Any documents from your country — police reports, court documents, hospital records, photographs, news articles, social media evidence
• Expert evidence — in some cases, a country expert or a medical expert can provide a written report. This is particularly important for cases involving cultural practices, political situations, or the medical impact of torture

Right to Remain has a detailed guide on preparing evidence for your appeal: righttoremain.org.uk/toolkit/appeals

The Standard of Proof

In asylum cases, you do not need to prove your case “beyond reasonable doubt.” You need to show a “reasonable degree of likelihood” that you face persecution if returned — sometimes described as a “real risk.” This means you do not need to prove every single detail of your account. You need to show that, taking your account as a whole, there is a real risk you would face persecution if returned.

Evidence Deadlines

The Tribunal will set deadlines for submitting your evidence. Take these seriously. Evidence submitted late may not be considered, or the judge may give it less weight. If you need more time, ask the Tribunal for an extension before the deadline passes — explain why you need it.

7.  The Appeal Hearing — What Happens on the Day

Before the Hearing

• Plan your journey to the hearing centre in advance. Arrive before 10:00am unless told otherwise
• If you are receiving asylum support, the Home Office can pay for your travel — but you (or your lawyer) must ask Migrant Help for a travel ticket in advance
• Bring your identification (your ARC card or BRP if you have one) and copies of all documents you submitted
• If you need an interpreter, one should have been arranged. If the interpreter is not speaking your language or dialect correctly, tell the judge immediately

What Happens in the Hearing

An appeal hearing is a formal court proceeding, but it is less formal than a criminal trial. Here is what to expect:

The judge. Your case will be heard by an Immigration Judge sitting alone. They are independent — they do not work for the Home Office. The judge will have read the papers before the hearing.

The Home Office Presenting Officer. A Home Office representative will attend to argue that the refusal was correct. They may ask you questions.

Your evidence. If you have a lawyer, they will present your case. If you are representing yourself, you will present your own case. You will be asked to give evidence — this means you will be asked questions about your claim by the judge, your lawyer (if you have one), and the Home Office Presenting Officer.

Giving evidence. This is often the hardest part. You will be asked detailed questions about your experiences, your fears, and your reasons for claiming asylum. The Home Office Presenting Officer may challenge you — this can feel hostile, but it is a normal part of the process. The judge is assessing your credibility based on how you answer.

Practical Advice for the Hearing

Be honest. If you do not remember something, say so. Do not guess or make things up — this will damage your credibility far more than admitting you cannot remember.

Take your time. You can ask for questions to be repeated. You can ask for breaks if you become distressed. The judge knows this is difficult.

Address the refusal reasons. Your evidence and your answers should directly address the reasons the Home Office gave for refusing your claim. If the Home Office said the police in your country could protect you, explain in detail why they cannot.

Show emotion appropriately. It is normal and expected to be emotional when describing traumatic events. But try to remain as clear as possible. If you become too distressed to continue, the judge can pause the hearing.

Do not argue with the judge or Presenting Officer. Even if a question feels unfair, answer it calmly and respectfully. Losing your temper will not help your case.

Right to Remain Hearing Guidance

Right to Remain and Asylum Aid have produced video guides to help you prepare for your hearing: righttoremain.org.uk/toolkit/appeal-hearing

8.  After the Hearing — What Happens Next

The Decision

In most cases, the judge will not give you a decision on the day. The judge will “reserve” the decision and send it to you in writing, usually within a few weeks. This waiting period can be very stressful.

If Your Appeal Is Allowed (You Win)

If the judge allows your appeal, the Home Office must grant you protection. However:

• The Home Office may challenge the decision by applying for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal. They usually have 14 days to do this
• If the Home Office does not challenge the decision, they must grant you status — this process usually takes 4 to 12 weeks after the decision becomes final
• If you claimed asylum on or before 1 March 2026, you should be granted at least 5 years’ leave to remain. If you claimed on or after 2 March 2026, the current rules provide for 30 months’ leave on the protection route. These are significant recent changes — check the latest position with Right to Remain or a lawyer

If Your Appeal Is Dismissed (You Lose)

If the judge dismisses your appeal, your case is not necessarily over — but your options become more limited. See Section 9 below.

9.  If You Lose Your Appeal — What Are Your Options?

Appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Error of Law)

If you lose at the First-tier Tribunal, you may be able to appeal further to the Upper Tribunal. But this is fundamentally different from your first appeal.

The Upper Tribunal does not hear your whole case again. It only looks at whether the First-tier Tribunal judge made a legal error — for example, the judge misapplied the law, failed to consider important evidence, or gave inadequate reasons for the decision.

You must apply for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal within 14 days of receiving the First-tier Tribunal’s written decision. This is another hard deadline.

This is extremely difficult to do without a lawyer. Identifying a legal error and arguing it in the correct legal terms requires specialist knowledge. If you do not already have a lawyer, finding one at this stage is critical.

The form you need is IAFT-5 (Application for Permission to Appeal to the Upper Tribunal), which should be sent to you with the First-tier Tribunal decision.

If the First-tier Tribunal Refuses Permission

If the First-tier Tribunal refuses you permission to appeal, you can apply directly to the Upper Tribunal for permission. You must do this promptly — there are strict time limits.

Fresh Claim (Further Submissions)

If all your appeal rights are exhausted, you may still be able to make further submissions to the Home Office — sometimes called a “fresh claim.” This requires genuinely new evidence or new circumstances that were not considered in your original claim or appeal.

From 8 April 2026, the rules for making further submissions are changing. You will need to attend an in-person appointment at a Service and Support Centre, and the Home Office has introduced stricter requirements. If your submissions do not meet the validity rules, they may be rejected without being considered.

Important: Further submissions must contain something genuinely new. Simply restating your original case will not work.

Voluntary Return

If your case has truly come to an end and you have no further options, you may be able to arrange a voluntary return to your country, sometimes with financial assistance for reintegration. This is an extremely difficult decision and you should take advice before making it.

10.  Your Support and Accommodation During the Appeal

Section 95 Support Continues During Your Appeal

If you are receiving asylum support (Section 95 — accommodation and the weekly cash allowance), this should normally continue while your appeal is ongoing, provided you submitted your appeal in time.

This is one of many reasons not to miss the 14-day deadline. If you do not submit your appeal on time, your support may be stopped.

What Happens If You Lose Your Appeal?

If your appeal is dismissed and you become “appeal rights exhausted,” your support will be stopped. You will normally have 21 days to leave your asylum accommodation.

If you are destitute and cannot leave the UK (for example, because it is not safe or practical to return), you may be able to apply for Section 4 support — a more limited form of support for failed asylum seekers.

Changes Coming to Asylum Support

Be aware that from 2 June 2026, the legal framework for asylum support is changing. The Home Office’s statutory duty to provide support for destitute asylum seekers is being replaced with a discretionary power. The practical impact of this change is not yet clear, but it is important to stay informed. Right to Remain is a good source for updates on this.

11.  When You Must Get a Lawyer

Representing Yourself Is Risky

Nearly half of all asylum appeals are successful. But the success rate is significantly higher for people who have legal representation. If you can get a lawyer, you should.

There are some situations where self-representation is particularly dangerous:

If your claim has been certified (you have no right of appeal from the UK) — you need urgent legal advice about judicial review.

If you need to appeal to the Upper Tribunal — identifying and arguing legal errors requires specialist legal knowledge. This is not something most people can do effectively without a lawyer.

If your case involves complex issues — trafficking, torture, serious medical conditions, children, or intersecting claims (for example, asylum and human rights).

If you are detained — the stakes are extremely high and the timescales are very short. You need legal representation.

If there are credibility issues — a skilled lawyer can structure your evidence to address credibility challenges in ways that are very difficult to do yourself.

Legal Aid Is Available for Asylum Appeals

Unlike many other areas of immigration law, Legal Aid is still available for asylum cases, including appeals. This means if you are eligible, a lawyer can represent you at no cost.

However, there is a severe shortage of Legal Aid asylum lawyers. Many firms have no capacity to take new cases. You may need to contact many firms before finding one that can help. Do not give up — keep trying.

A lawyer receiving Legal Aid must apply a “merits test” — they will assess whether your case has a reasonable prospect of success. If they decide it does not, they may decline to represent you. This does not mean your case is hopeless, but it does mean you should consider getting a second opinion from another firm.

12.  Where to Get Help

Finding a Legal Aid Solicitor

• Find a Solicitor (Law Society directory): solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk — search for immigration and asylum solicitors in your area who accept Legal Aid
• Gov.uk Legal Aid Provider Search: find-legal-advice.justice.gov.uk

Free Legal Information and Support

• Right to Remain Toolkit: righttoremain.org.uk/toolkit — the most comprehensive free guide to the asylum and immigration system. Their appeals section is essential reading
• Asylum Aid: asylumaid.org.uk — provides free legal representation to some asylum seekers and has helpful resources
• Refugee Council: refugeecouncil.org.uk — practical support and advice for asylum seekers
• Migrant Help: 0808 801 0503 (free, 24 hours) — the main helpline for asylum seekers in the UK. They can help with accommodation, support, and signposting to advice

Medical Evidence

• Helen Bamber Foundation: helenbamber.org — specialist medico-legal reports for survivors of torture and trafficking
• Freedom from Torture: freedomfromtorture.org — medical and therapeutic support for torture survivors, including medico-legal reports

If You Are Detained

• Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID): biduk.org — free legal advice for people in immigration detention
• Detention Action: detentionaction.org.uk — support for people in immigration detention

Country Information for Your Case

• Home Office Country Policy and Information Notes (CPINs): Available at gov.uk — the Home Office’s own country information. Useful because if the Home Office’s own evidence supports your case, it is powerful
• UNHCR Refworld: refworld.org — a vast database of country information, legal resources, and policy documents
• US State Department Human Rights Reports: Published annually for every country

The Long-Term View

If your appeal is successful and you are granted protection, the decisions you make now — and the honesty of your account throughout this process — will affect your life for years to come.

When you apply for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain), the Home Office will look at your entire immigration history, including your asylum claim and appeal. Inconsistencies, deception, or dishonesty at any stage can resurface years later as a “suitability” issue that blocks your settlement application.

This is why honesty matters at every stage — not just because it is the right thing to do, but because it protects your future. A genuine account told consistently is always stronger than an embellished one, even if the genuine account feels less dramatic.

The asylum process is frightening, exhausting, and often feels unfair. But many people go through it and succeed. The appeals process exists because the Home Office gets it wrong — a lot. Nearly half of all asylum appeals are allowed. Your refusal is not the end of your story.

About This Guide

This guide was written by Migrant Law Partnership to help asylum seekers who cannot access legal representation understand the appeals process. It is not legal advice. We have tried to make it as accurate as possible at the time of writing (March 2026), but immigration law changes frequently.

Migrant Law Partnership is a not-for-profit immigration law firm. We provide privately funded immigration legal services. We do not provide Legal Aid asylum representation.

For the latest information on asylum appeals, we recommend the Right to Remain Toolkit which is constantly updated.

If you find errors or have suggestions for improvements, please contact us through our website at migrantlawpartnership.com.

Last updated: March 2026