LONDON, June 30 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:
Aonce-in-a-generation overhaulof asylum and immigration appealswillcreate asinglerouteand end the merry-go-round ofrepeatedappeals. This will lead to faster, fairerdecisions,and speedup the removals of foreign criminals andfailed asylum seekers.
Theaverage time taken to clear casesstandsat 61 weeks, leaving more than 150,000 immigration and asylum appeals waiting to be heard.
To tackle this, the government will, through theImmigration and Asylum Bill that was confirmed in the King's Speech,set up a new independent body,whichwill establish a new framework for appeals to be heard.
The Independent Immigration Appeals Authority (IIAA)willbeable toprioritise casesin the public interest more easily,includinghigh-harm foreign offendersand human rights claims that are clearly without merit, leading to faster removals.
New lawswill also ensurethat those who are abusing the system to delay or prevent their returnare no longer able to do so.Currently, migrants can appeal a rejected claim and then bring further claims about new mattersbefore 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 authorityis 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 tribunalis overwhelmed.As a result, people are gaming the system, lodgingvexatiousappeals to frustratetheir removal.
Our new appealsbodywill ensureclaims are heard swiftly and fairly. Those with a legitimate claim willgettheirhearing.Thosewho have no right to remain in this country, and are abusing the system, will beswiftlyremoved.
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 asignificant increasein capacity within the authority, leading to more decisions being made.
While decisions will be fully independent, the new body will be integrated intotheimmigrationsystem 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 criminalshavebeen 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,withone singledecisionto be madeon asylum and humanitarian protection claimsto slashdelays.
Significant progresshas already been made in tackling the asylum backlog, with the number of people waiting foran initialdecision falling by 72% since June 2023.
In total, 128,000initialdecisions 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 theimmigration system and reducing the pull factors driving illegal migration.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
