A decision to deport can be appealed to the First-tier Tribunal where it refuses a human rights or protection claim. The appeal is the main way to stop a deportation, and the tests the Tribunal applies are set by statute, so the case has to be built to those tests from the start.

Time limits

14 days from the date the decision is sent if you are in the UK (including in detention).
28 days if you are outside the UK.

Late appeals can be admitted if there are good reasons, but do not rely on it.

The tests the Tribunal applies

For a foreign national offender, Parliament has set out in section 117C of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 when the public interest in deportation is outweighed:

Sentence of less than four years: deportation is not required if you have been lawfully resident for most of your life, are socially and culturally integrated, and would face very significant obstacles to integration abroad; or if you have a genuine and subsisting relationship with a qualifying partner or child and the effect of deportation on them would be unduly harsh.
Sentence of four years or more: you must show very compelling circumstances over and above those exceptions.

Protection claims (asylum and Article 3) are decided separately and are not subject to those exceptions, but exclusion and certification rules apply to serious offenders.

Evidence that matters

Independent evidence about children (school, social services, psychological reports), the partner's circumstances, your own rehabilitation (probation reports, courses, work), medical evidence, and country evidence about conditions on return. Statements alone rarely succeed.

This is not a complete list. What you need depends on your circumstances, and the documents vary from case to case. Your solicitor will tell you exactly what applies to you.

In-country or out-of-country

The Home Office can certify some cases so that the appeal is heard after removal. Certification can itself be challenged by judicial review where an out-of-country appeal would not be effective, for example where video evidence from abroad is not realistically available.

After the First-tier Tribunal

Either side can seek permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal on a point of law within 14 days. We advise on prospects before any onward appeal.

What we do

We take the case from the notice of decision through the hearing: statements, expert evidence, bundle preparation and advocacy. Legal aid may be available where a protection claim is involved or under exceptional case funding; we assess this at the first call.

If it is urgent

Detention, removal directions and short deadlines are dealt with the same day. Call 0161 222 5860 and say it is urgent; outside office hours leave a message with the detainee's name, where they are held and any reference numbers, and we will call back.