Work of the Asylum Support Tribunal
The Asylum Support Tribunal (AST) is responsible for determining appeals against decisions of the Home Office to:
- Refuse a claim for asylum support; or
- Discontinue asylum support
AST Judiciary
The AST is led by Principal Judge King, who reports to the President of the First Tier Tribunal, Social Entitlement Chamber. She is assisted by four salaried Tribunal Judges who primarily sit in AST and a further five salaried judges assigned to sit in AST for part of their working time. There are 15 fee-paid judges, many of whom also sit in other courts and tribunals.
The Tribunal hears appeals from individuals in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Appeals are normally heard in person at the Tribunal venue in London. With the permission of the Tribunal, a hearing can be conducted remotely (by video or telephone) or decided on evidence contained in the papers.
Making an Appeal
You should make an appeal by email using the current notice of appeal form which can be found here: E09: Notice of appeal – asylum support (PDF). You must complete all sections of the form, otherwise your appeal will not be accepted. Only send the form by post if you do not have an email address.
Section 4.1 – You must tell us here if you want your appeal decided with or without a hearing.
If you choose to have a hearing, the tribunal will decide how the hearing will take place, for example whether you should attend in person at Import Building, or by video or telephone. You may attend your hearing by video with the help of your representative, if they allow you to use their equipment and office.
If you choose to have your appeal decided without a hearing, the judge will make their decision based on the information and documents sent to the tribunal by you and the Home Office.
Section 4.2 –If you want an interpreter to assist you in your oral hearing, the Tribunal will provide one for you. You cannot use your own interpreter. Please make sure that you tell us the language and dialect you speak.
Section 4.4 – Let us know if you need any accessibility support at the hearing, for example, wheelchair access or a hearing loop. That helps us to arrange what is needed this in advance.
Section 4.5 – If you cannot come to Import Building in East London for your hearing you need to give the reasons why. For example, if you have small children to look after or you have difficulty travelling for health reasons.
Section 5 – You must explain here why you disagree with the Home Office decision you are appealing. A detailed explanation is not necessary, but more detail will help the Tribunal to make decisions about how the appeal will proceed. Do not leave this box blank.
Communicating with the AST
Email is the quickest and most convenient way to send your notice of appeal form to the Tribunal, and to communicate with us throughout your appeal process. You can contact us on: asylumsupporttribunals@justice.gov.uk
If you do not have access to email, you may contact us by post at the address provided on the notice of appeal form.
Mode of Hearings
A Tribunal judge will look at the notice of appeal form and decide which “mode” or type of hearing is best suited to your appeal. If you have asked for an oral hearing, you will usually be offered one. This may be a telephone, video or in person hearing. If you have asked for a decision on the papers, the judge may agree to your request, but they may decide an oral hearing is necessary for the appeal to be decided fairly. In such cases, the judge can list the appeal for an oral hearing without your permission.
Occasionally, a judge may decide that the appeal should not have a hearing even where you ask for one. This may be because there is enough evidence for your appeal to be allowed on the papers, or because your case has no reasonable chance of success, even if you take part in an oral hearing. Whatever the reason, the judge will explain this, and you may be asked for your comments. You should always respond to such a request.
If you have a telephone or video hearing, the Tribunal will send you detailed instructions on how to join your hearing. Whether it is a telephone hearing or a video hearing, the call will be free. Please provide your telephone number on the notice of appeal form. You must ensure that any telephone, laptop or tablet you intend to use is fully charged before the hearing.
“In person” hearings are where the judge and at least one party and/or their representative is physically present in the Tribunal premises at Import Buildings, in East London. You may be asked to attend in person, or you may be asked to take part by telephone or video. The Tribunal will choose the most appropriate type of hearing and where possible, will take your preference into account.
Listing an Appeal
The Tribunal will make every effort to list appeals as soon as possible. However, in some cases it may be necessary for the Tribunal to delay or “stay” your appeal. We will provide you with an explanation for why we have taken this step.
We list appeals as quickly as possible, because we know that they concern important issues of accommodation and financial support. Because asylum support appeals are decided speedily, it is important you send as much information as possible with your notice of appeal form. You should also respond quickly (ideally by email) when the Tribunal asks for additional information or documents needed to decide your appeal.