A once-in-a-generation overhaul of asylum and immigration appeals will create a single route and end the merry-go-round of repeated appeals. This will lead to faster, fairer decisions, and speed up the removals of foreign criminals and failed asylum seekers.
The average time taken to clear cases stands at 61 weeks, leaving more than 150,000 immigration and asylum appeals waiting to be heard.
To tackle this, the government will, through the Immigration and Asylum Bill that was confirmed in the King’s Speech, set up a new independent body, which will establish a new framework for appeals to be heard.
The Independent Immigration Appeals Authority (IIAA) will be able to prioritise cases in the public interest more easily, including high-harm foreign offenders and human rights claims that are clearly without merit, leading to faster removals.
New laws will also ensure that those who are abusing the system to delay or prevent their return are no longer able to do so. Currently, migrants can appeal a rejected claim and then bring further claims about new matters before their removal – a duplication that clogs the system. Requiring all claims to be brought together and creating a single appeal route will allow for faster outcomes.
The new authority is set to start hearing appeals from late 2027, to be phased in stages. It will have the flexibility to dynamically scale up and down the number of adjudicators based on demand within the appeals system.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said
Today, our appeals tribunal is overwhelmed. As a result, people are gaming the system, lodging vexatious appeals to frustrate their removal.
Our new appeals body will ensure claims are heard swiftly and fairly. Those with a legitimate claim will get their hearing. Those who have no right to remain in this country, and are abusing the system, will be swiftly removed.
The IIAA will be staffed by professionally trained and independently appointed adjudicators – much like a magistrate – who will have a broad range of skills and backgrounds, with safeguards to ensure high standards.
Broadening the eligibility criteria for people to apply to become adjudicators will result in a significant increase in capacity within the authority, leading to more decisions being made.
While decisions will be fully independent, the new body will be integrated into the immigration system to ensure cases flow through quickly to removal where appeals are unsuccessful, to scale up removals of those with no right to be here.
Nearly 70,000 illegal migrants and foreign criminals have been returned or deported since this government came to power.
The Immigration and Asylum Bill will also save taxpayers money by overhauling how asylum claims are processed, with one single decision to be made on asylum and humanitarian protection claims to slash delays.
Significant progress has already been made in tackling the asylum backlog, with the number of people waiting for an initial decision falling by 72% since June 2023.
In total, 128,000 initial decisions were made in the last year, a 32% increase on the previous year and more than 4 times the annual average in the decade to 2020.
The government is also increasing capacity in the existing appeals system. This year sitting days are due to increase by 19% in the First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber compared with 2024/25, so more cases can be heard and decisions made faster.
But the scale of the current caseload cannot be sustainably managed within the existing system. Despite the dedicated work of the tribunal and the judiciary, fundamental reform is now needed to stop the appeals system becoming a barrier to removal.
The Immigration and Asylum Bill will bring into force the most significant policy proposals in a generation to create a firm but fair asylum system that works for Britain, restoring order and control to the immigration system and reducing the pull factors driving illegal migration.