Frequently Asked Questions

8. Time taken to get a hearing

How long does an appeal take?

There are a number of different types of appeals and the procedures leading to a hearing before an Immigration Judge depend on different circumstances. A guide to each step of an appeal can be found on the following links:

Appeals lodged with Entry Clearance Officer at Overseas Post

Appeals lodged with AIT

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Where should I lodge my appeal?

You can either lodge your appeal at the Entry Clearance Office where the original decision on your application was made, or you can lodge your appeal directly with us at the AIT.

In most cases, an appeal lodged at post will be heard three weeks earlier than appeals lodged with the AIT. This is because the Entry Clearance Office can begin work on reconsideration and preparation of documents as soon as they receive the appeal. They do not have to wait until we notify them.

Appeals lodged with Entry Clearance Offices

For visit visa appeals lodged at post the earliest time an appeal would be heard is, 12 weeks after the appeal was lodged.

For non-settlement appeals lodged at post the earliest time an appeal would be heard is, 16 weeks after the appeal was lodged.

For settlement appeals lodged at post the earliest time an appeal would be heard is 24 weeks after the appeal was lodged.

Appeals lodged with AIT

For week commencing 25.2.08 the Loughborough Support Centre is registering Visit Visa appeals which have been received on 15.2.08. For other out of country appeals it is registering appeals received on 13.2.08. If you have sent your appeal to the AIT more recently than that date please be aware that there will be a slight delay of one week before your appeal is registered on to the database. Until this is done we are unable to provide any information about the progress of your appeal. Thank you for your patience.

Because of the additional time posts have to be given to prepare for an appeal lodged with us, the timescale for appeals lodged with the AIT are slightly longer.

For visit visa appeals lodged directly with AIT, the earliest time an appeal would be heard is 15 weeks after the appeal was lodged.

For non-settlement appeals lodged directly with AIT, the earliest time an appeal would be heard is 19 weeks after the appeal was lodged.

For settlement cases lodged directly with AIT, the earliest time an appeal would be heard is 27 weeks after the appeal was lodged.

If you want to lodge your appeal direct with the AIT you should send it by post or fax to:

Asylum and Immigration Tribunal
PO Box 7866
Loughborough
LE11 2XZ

Fax 01509 221699/0044509 221699

You are advised to make copies of the completed form and all documents that support your appeal for yourself.

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What happens if I lodge my appeal with the Entry Clearance Office?

If you choose to lodge your appeal with the Entry Clearance Office they will reconsider the original decision. If they think the original decision can be changed, they will contact you and explain what will happen next. If they think the original decision was right, then they will forward the appeal to us.

Once an appeal is received by the AIT, we enter it onto an electronic database, we give your appeal an appeal reference number and we send a Notice (Notice of Pending Appeal AIT 11) confirming receipt of your appeal to you, your representative and/or sponsor, if you have them. A copy of this notice is also sent to the Respondent (the Entry Clearance Officer at the Embassy or High Commission where your application was made) for information only.

It is very helpful if you could tell us what your reference number is in any correspondence or telephone calls.

The date shown on the Notice of Pending Appeal (AIT 11) is not a hearing date. The date shown is the date the AIT must receive from the Respondent the evidence on which they have based their decision to refuse your application. They have 8 weeks to provide this for non-settlement cases (including family visitor cases) and 16 weeks for settlement cases from the date you lodged your appeal at the Embassy or British High Commission.

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What happens if I lodge my appeal with the AIT?

If you choose to lodge your appeal directly with us we will acknowledge the appeal by sending you a Notice of Pending Appeal. This is called an AIT 11. We will also send this notice to the Entry Clearance Office which dealt with your original appeal. It is only when they receive that notice that they can reconsider your original application.

Once we receive your appeal, we enter it onto an electronic database, we give your appeal an appeal reference number and we send a Notice (Notice of Pending Appeal AIT 11) confirming receipt of your appeal to you, your representative and/or sponsor, if you have them and the Respondent (usually the Entry Clearance Officer at the Embassy or High Commission where your application was made).

It is very helpful if you could tell us what your reference number is in any correspondence or telephone calls.

The Notice of Pending Appeal, instructs the Respondent to prepare and send evidence on which they have based their decision to refuse your application to us. They have 11 weeks to provide this for non-settlement cases (including family visitor cases) and 19 weeks for settlement cases. The date by which the documents should be returned to us is shown on this Notice. This is not a hearing date.

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What happens after a Notice of Pending Appeal (AIT 11) has been sent?

Your appeal is then stored until we receive the evidence from the Respondent on which they have based their decision. This documentation is often referred to as the 'bundle'. In most cases, you will not hear from us during this period. Soon after the date shown on the Notice of Pending Appeal (AIT 11), has passed your representative if you have one or your sponsor will receive a copy of that documentation. You, your representative if you have one or your sponsor will receive written notice of the date and venue for your hearing.

Your appeal is stored by us until this evidence gathering is complete. Once we have received the bundle we aim to list your appeal for hearing at the next available date after a 4 week submission period if you are a family visitor and 8 weeks later for other cases. This submission period is given to allow you or your representative to prepare your appeal and to discuss your case. You will be informed of the date and venue of your appeal hearing in writing.

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I urgently need to visit the UK. Can my appeal be speeded up?

If there are compelling and/or compassionate reasons which warrant your appeal being brought forward you should put your reasons in writing and send them to us. We will arrange for your reasons and any supporting documentation to be put before an Immigration Judge to decide if your appeal should be heard sooner than usual. It is in your interest to make sure the Judge has all the documentation necessary to support your application.

This could, for example, be letters from a doctor or a hospital or, if you are a student, a letter from the college or university where you are going to study.

You should address any correspondence to the President of the AIT clearly marked: REAH AIT to:

Office of the Duty Immigration Judge
Expedited Appeal Hearing Requests
AIT Loughborough Support Centre
PO Box 6021
Loughborough
LE11 2XZ
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I have had a letter from you, a Notice of Pending Appeal (AIT 11). There is a date on this, is that the date of my hearing?

No. The AIT 11 tells the Respondent, usually the Entry Clearance Officer, the date when we should receive their papers relating to the appeal. The date of the hearing will not be decided until after the date on the AIT 11.

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I have had a letter from you, a Notice of Pending Appeal (AIT 11). When will my appeal be decided?

If you are living outside the UK, the Entry Clearance Office has to be given time to reconsider the original decision and to produce all the documents the Immigration Judge will require before the appeal hearing can be booked.

The Entry Clearance Office is allowed time to explain the reasons they refused your application and to provide evidence to support their decision.

If you lodged an appeal at the Entry Clearance Office and you want to visit or study in the UK they are allowed 56 days to do this. If you want to settle in the UK they are allowed 112 days. The Entry Clearance Officer must provide you or your representative a copy of this paperwork. We will send you a letter (AIT11) which tells you this process has begun. The letter will also give you the date by which we need to receive the information from the Entry Clearance Officer.

If you lodged an appeal directly with AIT and you want to visit or study in the UK the Entry Clearance Office are allowed 77 days to do this. If you want to settle in the UK they are allowed 133 days. The Entry Clearance Officer must provide you or your representative a copy of this paperwork. We will send you a letter (AIT11) which tells you this process has begun. The letter will also give you the date by which we need to receive the information from the Entry Clearance Officer.

You are allowed time to consider what the Entry Clearance Officer has said, we allow a 28 day period for family visitor appeals, and a 56 day period for non settlement and settlement cases before listing your appeal for a full hearing or consideration of the papers, if you have said you want your case to be decided on the papers. Your appeal will then be listed for the first available date.

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I had a letter from you called an AIT 11. This was a long time ago. Why haven't I had a hearing date?

The full hearing will not take place before the time allowed for the Entry Clearance Officer to file their statement has elapsed. The Entry Clearance Office is allowed time to explain the reasons they refused your application and to provide evidence to support their decision.

If you lodged an appeal at the Entry Clearance Office and you want to visit or study in the UK they are allowed 56 days to do this. If you want to settle in the UK they are allowed 112 days.. The Entry Clearance Officer must provide you or your representative a copy of this paperwork. We will send you a letter (AIT11) which tells you this process has begun. The letter will also give you the date by which we need to receive the information from the Entry Clearance Officer.

If you lodged an appeal directly with AIT and you want to visit or study in the UK the Entry Clearance Office are allowed 77 days to do this. If you want to settle in the UK they are allowed 133 days. The Entry Clearance Officer must provide you or your representative a copy of this paperwork. We will send you a letter (AIT11) which tells you this process has begun. The letter will also give you the date by which we need to receive the information from the Entry Clearance Officer.

You are allowed time to consider what the Entry Clearance Officer has said and we allow a 28 day period for family visitor appeals and a 56 day period for non settlement and settlement appeals before listing your appeal for a full hearing or consideration of the papers, if you have said you want your case to be decided on the papers. Your appeal will then be listed for the first available date.

In most cases, there is no need for us to contact you again until there is a date for your appeal to be heard.

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