Removal of appeal rights for students- all is not lost

Tier 4 students and their families are the first immigration category to lose their right of appeal under the government’s sweeping changes to limit appeal rights against immigration decisions.

Students and their families who make applications on or after 20 October 2014 will no longer have a right of appeal if their application is refused. Instead they will be subject to a new administrative review process. This means that rather an appeal being considered by an independent Immigration Judge, the decision is reviewed internally by UK Visas & Immigration.

The only judicial (and therefore independent) remedy now available to students seeking to challenge a refusal is to seek to challenge the lawfulness of the decision making process through Judicial Review proceedings in the Administrative Court.

This is understandably a daunting time for students and their families who receive a refusal of an application. David Gray Solicitors can help with this process. Our specialist immigration team can assist you in challenging refusals effectively through the new administrative review process and, if necessary, through Judicial Review proceedings.

Ian Lowther is one of our immigration and criminal law specialists. If you need help with a student appeal or any other aspect of immigration law please do not hesitate to call our immigration team on 0191 232 9547, email  Irfan.ali@davidgray.co.uk or Chat Live on our website www.davidgray.co.uk.