Judicial review is the court's review of whether a public body's decision was lawful. In immigration it is used where there is no right of appeal, where the Home Office has failed to decide, or where detention or removal is unlawful. Most immigration judicial reviews are heard in the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).

Time limit

A claim must be brought promptly and in any event within three months of the decision. "Promptly" matters: a claim issued at the end of the three months without reason can be refused. In removal cases the time is measured in days.

The stages

Pre-action letter to the Home Office, with a 14-day response period.
Issuing the claim: claim form, grounds, witness statement and bundle lodged in the Upper Tribunal with the fee (or a fee remission).
Acknowledgment of service: the Home Office sets out its summary grounds of defence, usually within 21 days.
Permission on the papers: a judge decides whether the claim is arguable. If refused, you can renew to an oral hearing within nine days.
Oral permission hearing, if needed.
Substantive hearing: full argument, usually some months later. Many cases settle before this stage once permission is granted.
Remedy: the decision is quashed and remade, or the Home Office is ordered to act; damages can be awarded in detention cases.

Interim relief

Where removal is imminent or detention continues, an application for an order preventing removal or directing release can be made at any stage, including before the claim is issued in a genuine emergency.

What the court does not do

Judicial review is not an appeal on the facts. The court asks whether the decision was lawful, rational, procedurally fair and in accordance with policy, not whether it would have decided differently. The grounds page explains what counts.

What we do

We assess prospects within days, send the pre-action letter, draft the grounds and bundle, instruct counsel where needed and run the claim to its end. See costs and legal aid.